Failing At Love
by kittensandmilk
Summary: Honey Lemon has had a crush on Tadashi Hamada since freshman year, and as her Junior year comes to an end she begins to panic. Finally the day comes when she decides to talk to him, after a disagreement and the misplacement of a glitter pencil, the two learn that they aren't so different from each other after all. Rated M for now due to cussing and other mature content.
1. Goodbye Glitter Pencil

** Hello everyone! Just a quick Authors note here! I am currently writing this Tadahoney fanfiction and I plan to write excessively over the break! Feedback is appreciated and I hope you love it!**

Honey Lemon pushed her large, drooping glasses up the bridge of her nose for the fifth time. She was reading an amazing book about different chemical reactions to try at home. The first chapter was all about vinegar and baking soda - ya know, beginners stuff. Even though she thought some of the experiments were so easy and overdone, she still found it as an amusing read. She even had her name on the waitlist for about ten other chemistry books, she thought of the subject as 'her thing.' At the moment, she was nestled in the corner of the school library, she was _supposed_ to be studying for her math final but found herself in the science section of the library for the fourth time this week. Besides, math was her second best subject so she didn't see any need to study quite yet. She flipped through the pages whispering calculations into the paper, people probably thought she was crazy! Thankfully, though, right now she was alone.

The 5th period bell rang, signaling the end of lunch and any reading sessions that had been taking place. She quickly stood from the rough, carpeted floor and slung her beige shoulder bag over her shoulder. As she walked out she slipped the thick book - textbook maybe - into her bag, giving the librarian a friendly wave goodbye before heading into the crowded hall. It seemed like everyone was _trying_ to push her over, or slam her into the lockers at the very least. Unfortunately, on her thin legs and high pumps it wasn't difficult for their goals to be achieved. Although the act seemed very intentional, as her back hit the cold metal, she knew that whoever pushed her was probably being pushed by another, who was being pushed by another - hallways have very vicious cycles.

With a lot of struggling and kindly pushing past people she made it to her fifth period class, chemistry! She nearly burst through the door as she quickly walked over to her seat, her usual grin plastered on her face. Her desk was located in the the third row next to a large window where sunlight poured in. Honey quite liked her spot, it wasn't too far back but it wasn't too close to the front either - front seats always feel so... _empty_. When she reached her desk she had to shimmy past her lab partners chair, sucking in to get between the pushed out and occupied chair that was mere inches away from the table behind them. it was a tight squeeze but she got to her seat that was next to the wall.

"Hi, Gogo!" She address her friend by her group given nickname. The black haired girl had her feet propped up on the black lab table, her arms folded over her chest.

"Hey Honey, why are you later than usual? Normally you're the first one here!" The shorter girl tried to make small talk but the gum in her mouth didn't mix too well with her awful social skills.

"Oh! I was just so into this great book about chemical reactions! There was even this - this one where you combine magnesium with carbon dioxide and its makes this crazy burst of smoke and light! All I need is a bit of magnesium, two pieces of dry ice, and a _blowtorch_!" Honey grinned widely, excited over one of her new found discoveries.

"Your enthusiasm to torching dangerous chemicals amuses me." Gogo's voice balanced on the edge of 'can you be more sarcastic than this?' and 'oh thanks for actually caring!' By now though, Honey Lemon could divide that sarcasm from the serious. "I'd like to hid my food in this book, what pages are you okay with me cutting large squares into?" Honey shook her head at her friends remark but before she could give a reply she was cut off from the world.

"Oh. My. _Gallium_!" Honey Lemon gasped with a hushed voice so that only Gogo could hear her.

"You're using elements instead of words so this must be important.." This time she _was_ sarcastic because Honey was always replacing everyday words with periodic elements.

"Look! look! its him, he's _**so **_dreamy!" Honey swooned as her ultimate crush passed by their table, finding his seat at the back of the room, by himself.

"Honey, you see him everyday! Plus, you do _this _everyday! You need to _relax_! Boys don't like girls who are - er - a bug in the ear." Honey Lemon admired her way of calling her 'obsessed' even if it was an insult, it was adorable.

"But, Gogo, he's perfect!" Her friend simply scoffed and sat back in her chair again as Honey's eyes continued to waver toward him. _Tadashi Hamada,_ the coolest kid in town! The sun from the large window perfectly lit his dark tufts of hair that peaked from the edge of his cap, old and worn. the light reflected off his velvety brown eyes, and his faded blue cardigan only made the color scheme more perfect. He had tight, dark brown jeans on and his arms were folded over his chest as he stared out the window. Honey Lemon sighed leaning into her hand, her elbow propped up against the table as she studied his beautiful face. Gogo was _right,_ she was crushing. _hard_. "Today will be the day I talk to him!" She smiled, a sudden burst of enthusiasm sat her up.

"You say that everyday."

"Oh don't be such a Debbie downer! I think I can actually do it this time! I can.. I can - borrow a pencil - yes!" Honey felt like that was the best idea ever! As if anyone didn't know she was _always_ prepared! "No that would work…" She pursed her lips, continuing to think. "Maybe I could say I need help understanding a problem!"

"Honey, everyone knows you would never need help understanding a problem." Gogo discouraged her once again, but for logical reasons at least!

Honey Lemon gasped. "You're right! He could find out I lied and he'd probably hate me! Oh dubnium, why do i have to be so good at chemistry!" she snapped her fingers and grasped her glitter pencil, thoughtfully tapping it on the table. Her pencil was one of her favorite semi-scientific projects ever, it included making a long lasting paste from certain chemicals that held better than glue. After, she rolled it through a mixture of pink and yellow glitter so it would match her vibrant hair and colorful headband. Her final touch was a cute little beaker charm that she welded to the metal piece of the eraser. She had been vandalizing all her pencils since the third grade.

"You're complaining about that?" Gogo laughed then kicked her feet off the desk, turning to face her blonde haired friend. "Look, Honey, even if you could hold a conversation with that boy I _promise_ you it will not be about schoolwork. He's just not interested. Do you know of anything he actually might _want_ to talk about?" Gogo had a point, if she was going to get on his good side, she'd have to get him with something good.

"Well… he seems pretty into drawing. I've seen him sketching in this cute little sketchbook _all _the time! Maybe I could casually go back there and sharpen my pencil then just 'happen' to notice his drawings!" Honey smiled, actually feeling truly confident about this one.

"You're getting the right idea!" Gogo laughed as she encouraged her. "At least it's a start so give it a shot! _Gogo_ get 'em girl!" Honey Lemon laughed as she stood from her chair. The bell had just rang when she reached the back of the classroom. The teacher would be coming in soon so she tried to hurry. She put her wooden pencil in the electric sharpener, the loud _vrrr_ -ing caught everyones attention. Well, _almost_ everyone.

Honey Lemon turned to walk past his desk, feeling confident. It was to her surprise, though, that his sketchbook **wasn't **out. Her cheeks flushed pink as she took a walk of shame back to her desk, her heels clicking to her chair. Just as she sat down their teacher, Mr. Callaghan entered the room.

Pages of notes and several trips to the sharpener later, she finally timed it right! And it was a good thing too, she had made a dramatic advance toward the end of her beloved glitter pencil. The teacher had let the class work on book work with a partner while he graded the piling worksheets that sat on his desk, so it was the best possible chance for a conversation. As she approached Tadashi's desk she noticed his left hand scribbling away on the sketching paper but she couldn't see exactly what he was drawing. She went with it anyway. "Oh my gallium, did you draw that?"

His hand stopped and he gave a sarcastic laugh as he answered her, his eyes not leaving his paper. "What? Did you just use a periodic element in your sentence?"

Oh no! She had already messed up, just eight words and she was done for!

"Uh- I - yeah… it's this, stupid, thing I do." She shook her head then tried to force it off. Taking a closer look at his notebook she saw something a little different from what she was expecting, instead of doodles and drawings in the pages of the book, there were sketches - blueprints really - sprawled across the paper. They were all creative and unique, little inventions with scientific and mathematical calculations everywhere. Honey admired all the variables and equations and labels, it was so specific and _accurate._ "Woah, these are **amazing**, did you come up with all of this? The calculations are perfect and the ideas are so original. Tadashi, you're a _genius_!" The enthusiasm in her voice was blatantly displayed and she even started to poke at the book itself.

"Hey, I'd appreciate it if you didn't just flip through my book." Tadashi pulled the small, leather-bound notebook from her hands and closed it, he didn't look too pleased with her. And just like that Honey felt so cold and lonely, as though she was lost in a snowy wilderness and someone had just put ice water over her warm fire. Now she was an outsider looking in, and she didn't know Tadashi well enough to open the door again. She felt so helpless and her confidence shut down.

"I - I'm sorry, I just really like science and stuff." Her eyes glanced around, trying not to make eye contact with his intense stare, he was oddly intimidating. He didn't answer. Honey tapped her finger nervously for a second before the bell ring. "Oh! Uh.. Catch ya later!" She stood up and rushed to her desk shoving everything in her bag and bolting for the door. She had thoroughly embarrassed herself and had already decided she wouldn't even make eye contact with that boy for at least another week.

**Hopefully you enjoyed that first chapter there! I know it wasn't very exciting but stories need their exposition and all! Haha, anyway I am currently working on chapter 2 and it should be up real soon! Take care :)**


	2. Well that could have gone better

**I just want to say how thankful I am for the positive reviews of the last chapter! I'm so happy people are already enjoying it and supporting it! Here's the second chapter, I tried to make it sort of interesting but it's still introductory stuff so there's not much for me to work with. Soon though I promise!**

The next day, Honey Lemon didn't spend a minute in the library. She promised her friends she would attend lunch with them like a normal person instead of hiding away in book piles. The blonde didn't waste any time pitying those who had to wait in the long lunch lines just to eat awful food. She used to feel bad until she realized they tortured themselves under their own volition. She found it strange that the food always smelled so good but ended up being dry and tasteless or simply disgusting, she assumed it was due to a chemical release in the body. As she took her swift, wide steps across the tile cafeteria floor she glanced at recognizable faces. Hiro was the first to catch her eye, the younger brother of Tadashi, who was the smartest, and youngest kid in his sophomore class, being just thirteen when he completed freshman year online in a matter of days. She considered talking with him but saved that for another day, she wondered though, if it would be easier to hold a conversation with Hiro.

Honey eventually made her way to the courtyard, outside the large cafeteria, to meet with her friends. As usual, they were all grouped around a circular table chatting about schoolwork and projects. "Hey everyone!" She smiled finding her spot and sitting down.

"Hey Honey." They all spoke those words though it was in scattered order.

She had a peculiar group of friends. To her right was a short, red - haired boy named Fred. He occasionally dressed like a homeless child but usually just showed up at school looking like you're typical skater-boy or druggie. Of which he was neither. Fred was the son of very rich parents who spoiled him with whatever he wanted. Lucky for them, he wasn't too ambitious. The boy had a passion for comic books and figurine collecting, everyday he had another of the two to introduce to the group and there was always a special story to how he got everyone. The special stories never differed but it was a good topic of conversation nonetheless.

Next to him was her friend Gogo Tomago, though the two girls differed in many ways, they got along quite wonderfully. Gogo was the quiet, passive-aggressive type. She didn't really take part in conversation too much and preferred to consider and display herself as an outcast. The skinny jeans, leather jacket, fingerless motor-gloves, and purple streak in her hair kept many people away. But that was how Gogo liked it.

The two met in seventh grade, Gogo used to tease Honey because she was flat-chested and didn't need a bra. That changed though, over the summer and the next year Gogo apologized, proving she wasn't a terrible person. A few weeks after they became acquaintances, Gogo had held a sleepover birthday party. When Honey Lemon was the only one who showed up, she knew who her real friends were. They've been best friends ever since.

Finally, to Honey Lemon's left was Wasabi. He was a tall and bulky boy with dark hair and skin. He was a science enthusiast and was usually caught talking about physics, which also interested Honey but not as intensely as her obsession with chemistry. Though Wasabi is probably the sweetest guy she knew, he too seemed to scare people off. Maybe his height and muscular advantage on most people was what caused them to avoid his path.

Yes, they were an odd group of lonely people that found each other, became friends, and happily decided to keep it that way, always being friends even after senior year came their way.

"So how'd it go?" Gogo snickered a bit noticing Honey's absence from the present as she wandered through her thoughts. The blonde shot a glare at her shorter friend, she didn't want to talk about Tadashi in front of her guy friends, that would just be weird.

"How'd what go?" Wasabi questioned, obviously ignoring her uncomfortable state. He was a big enthusiast on telling friends _everything_.

"It's nothing." Honey tried to wave it off with the gesture of her hand but she wasn't as smooth as she thought she was and so the topic remained.

"Honey Lemon talked to Tadashi Hamada today!" Gogo's voice was mocking, like a third grader chanting 'you can't catch me' and clearly Honey Lemon could not.

"Honey, why would you do that!" Fred burst into the conversation obviously more into it now that it had escalated. "He doesn't talk to anyone!"

"Yeah, that guy's an outsider, he doesn't want conversation." Wasabi continued for his friend.

Honey shook her head with a small laugh. "That's not true… Actually, I think the thing he truly needs _is_ a friend. And he's actually really intelligent! He's always drawing in this sketchbook of his, except he's not drawing, he's brainstorming all these wonderful inventions. Some of them are even similar to the ones we make outside of school!" She nodded hoping she could shift their view on the boy.

Fred shrugged "I still think you should keep your distance from him, he's bad news." Why did Gogo have to bring it up? Now it's turned into some big debate. luckily, though, they didn't know she had a crush on him.

"Well would you look at that." Gogo smirked, looking past Honey who was sitting across the table.

"What?" Honey Lemon turned around to see Tadashi approaching them. Why was he coming to her table, what was he going to say? She immediately stood up and tried to look a little more smooth than she really was. "Hey, Tadashi." She smiled as she met him a few feet from their table.

"Hi Aiko." It was weird hearing her real name, she spent so little time with people other than her friends that she had become accustomed to her nickname. It was even more strange to hear it come from his mouth, spoken so casually _and_ he actually knew her name.

"What - uh - what are you doing here?" She chuckled nervously as she clasped her hands behind her back. Of course she'd be nervous around him, she just wished her constant swaying and fidgeting didn't show it so blatantly.

Tadashi gave a chuckle at her words. "Am I not welcome here? Because I can just turn around and be on my merry way. I wouldn't mind keeping your glitter pencil anyway."

"No it's not that it's just - wait my glitter pencil?" She tilted her head as he raised it from his brown bag that closely resembled her own. "OMG! Thanks so much I was wondering where that had gone!" Honey Lemon happily reached for her beloved pencil.

"Ah, ah, ah." Tadashi laughed again and pulled it from her reach. She thought his laugh was one of the most beautiful things ever. "It's just, what?" He implied that he wanted her to finish her previous sentence.

She folded her arms over her chest as if upset that he took her pencil from her. "It's just unlike you to socialize with me… or _anyone_ for that matter." She knew she sort of messed up when his face became a little harder. It was as though she had pulled the wrong string. "Not that you don't have any friends or anything, I'm not saying that -"

"Except you are." Tadashi shook his head at her as though he was dissapointed. "Man, I - I thought you were supposed to be nice."

"What? No! Tadashi, I'm sorry, It just came out wrong! That's not what I-" Her rambling was cut off again.

"You know what, it's fine. It doesn't matter. Just take your stupid glitter pencil…" He pushed the pencil into her hands and walked off. She felt so cornered, it had been going so well. They were getting along and holding a conversation, then he became so mad. She knew it was mainly her fault but, he took her too seriously. She would never try to come off as mean, not to Tadashi. It was as though all ability to speak had left her, _he_ had left her. She wanted to do something but she couldn't will herself to move or speak, and she couldn't understand why such a small thing had that effect on her.

"Honey, how about you sit down." It was Wasabi who spoke first, hoping to bring her back to laughing and talking with her friends, but that wasn't something she wanted right now. Call her an over-exaggerater but Honey felt like she could cry. Tadashi Hamada, someone she liked _so_ much not only yelled at her, but indirectly called her _**mean**_. No one's ever called her mean before. She closed her gaping mouth, almost as if biting back tears, then turned and grabbed her bag before running to the library.

For a while she just sat at a large round table, by herself. She didn't speak, she didn't read, she just stared at her small pale hands that were clasped and resting on the smooth wood. Honey wondered how she could possibly fix this, would he even want to talk to her? How was it so easy for her to take one step forward then five steps back? How could she be failing so badly at love? Though, love wasn't a class so technically she couldn't be failing it could she? No. She was _definitely _failing at love. Finally, though, she decided to talk to him in chemistry, it really wasn't that big of a deal and she was sure apologizing would help. As long as he let her finish her sentences.

The bell rang and she rushed to her class, running through the words she planned to say over and over again so that she would not mess up. She had to make this better otherwise she'd always just be that girl that pissed him off at lunch that one day. Honey Lemon wanted to be more than that, she _needed_ to be more than that. As she rounded into the classroom she noticed him sitting, head down, drawing in his sketchbook. She smiled softly at how adorable he was but immediately shook it off when he glared up at her, the sound of her heels clicking was a pretty good warning sign of her approach. She took a seat next to him in the empty chair that sat at his lab table, she always wondered why he sat alone. "Hey Tadashi." She said weakly, already completely messing up her briefly rehearsed lines.

Silence.

"I said, hey Tadash -"

"What do you want?" He dropped his pen, hitting it hard on the table. She already knew this wasn't going well.

"Look," She sighed deciding to give an organic apology, one that wasn't thought over. One that just simply was an apology, that she sincerely meant. "I honestly didn't mean to imply that you may or may not have friends, I wasn't thinking and it came out wrong. I would never try to be a mean person… And I am sorry." He didn't answer for a while, he just shook his head and stared at the black surface of the table as though he was contemplating the idea of whether or not to forgive her.

"No." Tadashi's voice was quiet now, more sincere than she had ever heard before. "Honestly I shouldn't be hurt by it. I mean, I _do_ sit at a lunch table by myself." He chuckled and she was glad he was smiling around her again. She actually felt so much better, and when he spoke she saw an opportunity - one she couldn't pass up.

"You could _totally_ sit with me and my friends! We'd love to have you there! It would be really fun and maybe we could all be friends!" Her voice probably sounded too eager for him because he looked a little less happy as he pursed his lips.

"That's really nice, I just don't think…" He didn't finish but she didn't urge him too, she probably wouldn't like the ending anyway.

"It's fine.." She nodded looking down, a little embarrassed, now, about how confident she was. "It was just a suggestion, I get it." With her dignity shred and the feeling of failure hanging over her head, once again, she stood from the seat to walk back to her own.

"Hey Aiko," He interrupted her walking, calling her by her first name again. She swore he had such a power over her as even that made her stomach fill with butterflies. "I'll think about it." Honey smiled to with a nod before walking calmly back to her desk. However, she felt like she could dance around the room and her grin turned into a smile that she couldn't hold back. He said he'd think about it! She absolutely _could not_ wait for lunch tomorrow.

** Hope you enjoyed that chapter! I promise I am trying to improve my writing throughout this process but feedback is always helpful! So please leave comments about the story positive or constructive criticism, I greatly appreciate either! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you stick around for the rest!**


	3. The Not-So-Lucky Cat Cafe

Honey Lemon was undoubtedly the first person at her lunch table the next day, she didn't mean to get her hopes up but she was currently excited to greet a new friend. Then again, maybe they weren't even friends yet. She frowned and began nervously combining her fingers through a small bit of her butterscotch hair. Honey liked Tadashi so much, she still could distinctly remember the day he first talked to her. She had just moved from a different town and was fairly nervous to start high school in a big city, regardless of her cheery personality. It was the second day of school and she recalled how embarrassed she felt walking into the large building that day because she had forgotten to put on makeup in her rush after waking up late. It didn't help either that she also happened to share P.E. with him that year, so her first impression was a pair of oversized gym shorts and a baggy shirt. With her hair up in a pathetic messy bun, she had never felt more unattractive in her life. Of course _that_ was they day he had noticed her. "You're not from around here are you?" He had spoken in a friendly tone as he smiled at her unfamiliar face. Clearly everyone at this high school had gone to elementary and middle school together as well. Needless to say, she was easy to point out. When she shyly uttered the word 'No,' he nodded and introduced himself as Tadashi Hamada. From that day forth she had been crushing hard, he talked to her when she looked so terrible, he was nice to her when she was so scared.

Sadly, though, they had never really became friends just names that went with faces. Which was why Honey was now so determined to break the thick layer of ice between them. The task proved to become more difficult as the years went on, now in their junior year, Tadashi was so closed off and she didn't know why. He used to be such an outgoing person but ever since this year, he's been so cold and lonely. She just wished she understood him.

"Hey Honey!" Fred wasn't the boy she was hoping to see at her table but she was still happy to greet him anyway.

"Hi Fred! Have you, for any reason, seen Tadashi walking this way… Maybe…?" Her voice was shy and the question was abruptly placed but she was becoming anxious.

"No… Why would that guy be stopping by again? Did you lose another pencil? The dude knows you have, like, twenty, right?" Fred laughed and sat down, pulling his 'Godzilla' lunch box from his backpack.

"Oh, no, it's not that. I just.." She sighed, for some reason feeling more nervous around her friend than she should. "I invited him to sit with us at lunch."

"You did _what_?!"

"What's all the yelling about?" Gogo chuckled as, she too, walked up to the table that was beginning to gather its regular occupants, no Tadashi though.

"Honey Lemon asked Tadashi Hamada to sit with us!" Fred sounded dumbfounded, as if her actions were the craziest thing she'd ever done.

"Well now that's just _crazy talk_." The sarcasm in Gogo's voice made Honey a little more comfortable. Her friend realized how dramatic Fred was being about something that shouldn't be treated as a big deal.

"Don't worry Fred, it looks like he's a no show anyway…" Honey trailed off. Sure lunch still had a good amount of time left to it but, Tadashi didn't show any signs of having other priorities. As time went by and Wasabi joined their table, she knew her fears were correct, he wasn't coming. Why had she even offered?

"Honey, maybe he just had something else he needed to do." Gogo placed a reassuring hand on Honey Lemon's shoulder while the boys argued about whether Godzilla would be stronger than king kong.

"Yeah you're probably right."

That was last week.

Friday, at lunch, there still seemed to be no sign of Tadashi, she didn't talk with him about it in chem because she didn't want to come off as pushy. Gogo had already told her that guys don't like pushy girls. Now, though, all Honey wanted was for her crush to show. She remembered then, that he never did say 'yes' and so maybe he never actually intended to stop by at all..

"Honey Lemon, why the long face?" The girl nearly jumped from her seat when the sound of the familiar, masculine voice pulled her from her worries. "Hey!" Tadashi casually strolled up to her table with another boy by his side.

"Tadashi?" Honey Lemon couldn't will herself to say more, she was purely shocked.

"Yeah," He laughed as he scratched the back of his neck, almost as a nervous gesture. "Sorry I haven't shown up the last few days, I made a friend and wanted to show him around. His name is Max, he's new."

Honey glanced to the tall boy that stood next to Tadashi, he was extremely pale and his hair was short, nearly as white as his skin. She hadn't seen the boy around but he seemed friendly as he gave a smile and a wave that looked shy, almost robotic too. "It's nice to meet you Max, I'm Aiko but my friends call me Honey Lemon." She smiled at the chubby, albino boy. He did look strange but she'd never judge a book by it's cover.

"Do they?" Tadashi seemed a little confused, as if he didn't understand why he hadn't heard her nickname before, with that she gave a nod. She was happy to discover that he truly did have a reason for his absence and was actually meaning to sit with her sooner. Maybe they _were_ friends.

The lunch passed quickly but was filled with long conversation about everyone. They all shared a bit about themselves to learn more and Honey was happy to hear Tadashi speak, even though he was the one who said the least. Most of the time he just sat quietly, he seemed distant even with everyone so involved his mind was elsewhere and she couldn't understand why.

Max was the star of the table, everyone took interest in where he was from and what he liked to do. Turns out, the boy was very interested in medical fields. He said one day he hoped to become a personal health care assistant for some rich person, explaining how people under that profession get paid a ton just to sit around in the mansion of their employer in case they are needed. Fred gladly invited Max to his house sometime, suggesting that maybe Fred's parents would take the peculiar boy up on that offer.

The days went by quickly, of course her favorite time was lunch where she continued to try and bring Tadashi into the conversation more. Sadly, he just wasn't too interested in sharing much about himself. Honey decided it would be best if she stopped pushing, he was sitting at her table. Couldn't that at least be good enough for now?

The bell that signalled the end of the school day, and the school week, caused Honey Lemon to jump from her chair. She had lost track of time, scribbling in her math notebook till the sound of the bell. The girl smiled recalling the plans that she'd made today. She'd meet her friends by Gogo's car and they'd all pile in so Gogo could speed off to the Lucky Cat Cafe. It seemed like everyone in school had been talking about the grand opening of this awesome cafe. So, of course, her and her friends made plans to be the first ones there.

She rushed down the hallway and out to the high school's parking lot where she spotted Gogo's yellow sports car which deemed two thick, black stripes down the center.

The boys had been so jealous when they found out she was getting such a hot ride, but it suited Gogo.

"Hey everyone!" Honey addressed her friends as she hopped in the back, they were all already there. "Guess I wasn't as quick as I thought, huh?" She chuckled nervously while she clicked her buckle into place and held onto the back seat cushion, preparing herself for the ride. Gogo had an obsession with speeding in her car but some how never getting caught. Her driving was crazy, but not technically unsafe. She had never gotten into an accident and never got a ticket - but that was just luck. Once they pulled out of the parking lot everything was zooming by, it made Honey Lemon dizzy just looking out the window.

Fred was holding onto the back of Gogo's chair and Wasabi had a hand over his mouth, he was easily motion sick so it wasn't an unfamiliar gesture. To her leather seats though, it was a great threat she wasn't willing to see through.

"You all are overreactors." Gogo sighed as she slowed down.

"I'm sorry, Gogo, I just don't think my stomach can handle your driving." Wasabi apologized as he swallowed hard.

"Pfft, big baby." Honey Lemon laughed a bit at that remark, though it was inaudible she agreed with Gogo. Wasabi was the softest, sweetest person she knew.

Honey happily looked out the window now, watching the old fashioned townhouses pass by in slow blurs. She thought Sanfransokyo was extremely beautiful, happy she'd left the town that she used to live in, the school she used to go to. The colors here were so bright, and even though not all was perfect, the people that lived in the city seemed fairly content.

Soon the car pulled up to the adorable cafe, a sign that read: Grand Opening! Adorned the wall above the double doors. Their group hopped from the car and Honey was the first in the cafe, pointing to all the lucky cat decorations.

"Do you like the place?" A short, middle-aged woman approached the group of friends with a smile. She was holding a notepad and a pen was propped behind her ear. Her tufts of light brown hair were cut short into what looked like a slightly grown-out pixie cut. "Welcome to the Lucky Cat Cafe!" She smiled at them brightly, clearly overwhelmed with the excitement of the day. A name tag was pinned onto her shirt reading 'Aunt Cass.'

"_Aunt_ Cass?" Wasabi was the first to question it.

"It's what the kids call me." Aunt Cass winked with a smile, showing off her friendliness. "Can I get you all a table?" She nodded for them to follow her into the cafe where she found them an empty table to sit at. "Your waiter will be with you in a moment." She smiled then headed back to the front of the cafe where she resumed her position as the hostess.

"Isn't this just the cutest little place?" Honey Lemon chimed as she slung her backpack over her chair and took her seat across from Wasabi.

The group chatted with each other for a bit, discussing school work and weekend plans until a voice, presumably their expected waiter, interrupted their conversation.

"Hello and welcome to the Lucky Cat Cafe! Can I start you off with some drinks?"

Honey recognized that voice anywhere. "Tadashi?"


	4. What's my name again?

**Hello everyone! I've been really busy lately as I missed a whole week of school last week and am now catching up on homework! However I did manage to find the time to type up this chapter and post it to you! **

** Oh I also realized that I forgot to add a little authors note to the last chapter and explain my absence… Simply put I was at my dads in Texas for ten days after christmas and he didn't have any wifi or anything so I couldn't post or even get onto to google docs to type up extra chapters! But I'm back now and I'll be trying to get new chapters to you as quickly as possible!**

"Hey!" Honey Lemon yelped as she immediately sat up straighter, nearly forcing a smile on her face, she never did that but today - despite how wonderful he was to look at - she was hoping to catch up and spend some time with her friends not _unintentionally _drooling over Tadashi.

"Oh, hi Aiko!" He spoke her name with a cheeky smile before greeting the others. "Fred, Gogo, Wasabi! It's a pleasant surprise to see you all here! And to think I was worried I'd have to talk to boring customers all day!" The dark haired boy continued to smile and make small talk with Wasabi and Fred, Tadashi and Wasabi got along really well and Honey assumed it was because they were so alike… but why did _he_ get called by his name and she just got 'Aiko!?' Even _Gogo _was addressed by her proper nickname but Honey was left in the dust, or so it seemed.

"It's a surprise to see you here too…" Honey Lemon continued off of his sentence, inviting herself into the conversation. "You - uh - never mentioned working here, why?" Honey was babbling like a fool, but she kind of felt neglected, he didn't talk much and she knew that but couldn't he at least tell them important things like this.

"I also didn't mention living here so I fail to see your point." He chuckled lightly then nodded to the spiraling staircase in the far corner of the restaurant when he noticed their faces of confusion. "It's a house upstairs. When we got the place a few months ago and there was all this extra space, so we started brainstorming different fun uses we could get out of it. Since my aunt Cass has always wanted a restaurant, it seemed like the natural choice." He nodded, the soft smile never leaving his lips. Tadashi seemed happier at home, which was understandable, but she still noticed a difference in his disposition since freshman or even sophomore year.

"That's really cool Tadashi!" Gogo nodded sounding rather sincere. Maybe she, too, noticed his happiness and wanted to preserve it. Honey knew this was true when she felt Gogo lightly hit her leg with the back of her boot, gesturing to make a move - a little one of course.

"Uh, yeah! I guess we don't really know too much about you, huh… You'll - uh - have to tell us more about yourself sometime!" She was nervous of course, but regardless of the 'uh's' her words sounded fairly natural. When Tadashi smiled a soft smile at her, she knew she had done well. 

"Oh - um - I nearly forgot! What can I get you guys?"

"Just a few chocolate shakes all around!" Fred nodded happily, of course he was as excited as everyone else to indulge in the creamy, chocolate goodness of a milkshake.

"Yeah," Gogo nodded in agreement, "Honey Lemon and I are going to go out alone after this… for a girls night." Honey smiled as she listened to Gogo's words, not only did _she_ use her nickname - hoping she could drill it in his head - but Honey was reminded of their long awaited 'girls night.' Their kind of girls night wasn't as typical as the ones in the movies, although it did consist of similar events such as shopping, they never gossiped or did each others nails. The night usually ended with a scary movie marathon and some popcorn, cuddling up on Honey's small sofa in her basement till the late hours of the night.

"Sounds like a blast!" Tadashi nodded before turning to go, "I'll be right back with your milkshakes!"

Once he was out of hearing range, Fred burst into a totally different conversation. "Well, he's oddly perky today."

"You misjudge him, Fred." Wasabi immediately contradicted Fred's statement, in favor of the groups new friend. "Tadashi is extremely intelligent and quite fun to be around, you shouldn't be so hard on him. The last time him and I hung out he said he thinks that you are very nice, don't make him regret that statement." Just as soon as Wasabi finished his sentence, Fred was nodding apologetically and sinking in his chair.

"Thank you, Wasabi… Wait, _hung out?_"

"Yeah, just last weekend… You didn't _really_ think Tadashi and I became so close through lunchtime small talk, did you?" Wasabi chuckled a little and she pushed a piece of hair back behind her ear.

"No, o - of course not…" _Wow, _It seemed like everyone was getting way closer to Tadashi than she was, even Fred was _nice_, she was just Aiko.

The group had happily finished their shakes and bid Tadashi goodbye, then Gogo sped off to Fred's where she dropped the boys. Finally, it was just Honey and Gogo. They both could not have been happier.

"To the mall?"

"To the mall!" Honey chimed as they drove off in the direction of the wonderful building. Gogo wasn't much of a shopper but appreciated clothes and loved to accompany Honey while she raced from rack to rack grabbing five hundred things before finally trying them on. She always helped making the decisions of what looked best on Aiko, honesty was her key trait and if something looked like crap on her, she would say it.

"How's it lookin' in there, Honey?" Gogo called from behind the dressing room door.

"Oh just wonderful! I'll be out in a second!" She called back to her friend before zipping up the zipper on a knitted, pastel orange sweater-dress. The article was form fitting and it adorned her usual peterpan collar, plus it was warm so it was extremely suitable for the rather chilly months they'd been receiving. Personally _she _loved the way it looked, especially with the white nylons she was wearing, so she stepped out of the dressing room and did a twirl. "Whaddya think?" Honey smiled happily then placed her hands on her hips.

"I think you'll have Tadashi Hamada all _over _you in that dress." Gogo chuckled and sat back the small plastic chair that she had claimed while she judged Honey's outfits. Aiko chuckled at her best friend who - though was rather tomboyish - really knew how to girl talk. "Speaking of Tadashi, how are things going between you two? Have you got his number? Do you guys even talk outside of lunch?"

Honey's head hung a bit as she answered her friends question honestly. "No… We hardly ever talk at _lunch_, so how am I supposed to get to know him anywhere else?"

"Hey, hey girl. Chin up! You'll get to him eventually, he just has some sort of issue with socializing." Gogo actually lifted her chin as she spoke with a soft smile. "How about, _next weekend_, we all go out for a _friends_ night. Then we drag him along, yeah?"

Honey laughed a bit at her friends words, how they would have to _drag _him along if they wanted him to go. "Yeah. I mean if he and Wasabi have hung out after school than theres no reason the rest of us can't…" She agreed but the disappointment was still plain as day in her voice. "...Did you notice how he called everyone by their nickname except me?"

"Girl, _relax_, he's probably just used to calling you Aiko… wow, I haven't said that in _years_!" Gogo laughed as she ran a hand through her jagged short hair.

"My point_ exactly._" Honey shrugged not liking how she felt so useless over such a stupid thing.

"Come on, why don't we check out this dress and a few other things then go curl up on your sofa with a big bowl of extra buttery popcorn?" Honey laughed and nodded before returning to the dressing room to change.

Aiko only wished there was a better way to interact with Tadashi, and that's where her mind was throughout their whole movie session; wondering about Tadashi and how she could possibly get closer to him.


	5. New clothes, bloody nose

**Hey everyone, Julia here! I'm sorry that this chapter is sort of uneventful but despite that fact - I REALLY like this one! Honey Lemon and Max (Who is an AU of Baymax for those of you who didn't catch on) they have a cute little talk. But NEXT chapter is really going to be interesting! Enjoy this for now though.**

That next week Honey came to school with a new attitude, she was one hundred percent determined to get closer to Tadashi and break him out of his shell. It had been a long weekend filled with pondering thoughts on the subject and Gogo helped a lot. They actually made a _game plan_ of a sort to help organize the process - Honey succeeded better when her thoughts were organized.

Today she wouldn't even wait till lunch to talk to Tadashi, she waltzed right up to his locker with a smile on her face. He was adorable even when he was doing such a simple thing as twirling the nozzle of his locker to enter the combination. Since he hadn't seen her, Honey planned to do the whole 'walk up to the locker and lean against it while saying 'Hi' in a smooth voice' thing... but it didn't exactly go as planned. Yes, she did manage to get to the lockers before being seen, but Tadashi also got the locker open at the exact same time. He swung the metal panel open and she positioned herself directly behind it. How did she _possibly _manage to time it so imperfectly that when she reached the locker it also reached her.

_**Smack!**_

The metallic clang of the locker door hitting her face made a sort of echo pulse through her head.

"Ow, ow - okay, _ow_!" Honey stumbled backward and pinched the bridge of her nose, it hurt _really_ badly.

"Oh god, Aiko are you alright?" Tadashi slammed his locker shut and grabbed her forearm, steadying her on her wobbling knees.

"Really?!" She snapped a bit when he _continued_ to call her Aiko but then sighed and shook her head. "I'm fine..." So much for being smooth.

"No, no you're bleeding!"

"What?"

"Aiko, your nose is bleeding."

That's why it was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe. "Aw man!" She moved her fingers from the bridge of her nose to the bottom, pressing under her nostrils to hope that it would stop the blood from dripping. "Well... I'm going to go clean up," she started to back away toward the girls bathroom with a sad tone in her voice as she turned to go.

"I'll - uh - I'll talk to you later, yeah?" But he never did get a reply, Honey wasn't mad at him - ok maybe a tiny bit but it didn't help that he continued to use her first name - she was just really embarrassed.

"Ok..." She used her back to push the girls restroom door open and then grabbed a handful of toilet paper before returning to the mirror. It was a good thing she had her makeup bag in her purse because after washing the blood off she'd have to fix up her makeup. "_Aiko your nose is bleeding._" She said his words in a mocking tone as she wiped away the scarlet residue. "Ugh, how do I screw up everything, every _single_ _**time**_!" She sighed feeling fairly defeated for a moment, on the bright side though, this time it was something _he'd_ feel bad for.

She scoffed at herself remembering how difficult it was to actually stop a bloody nose from doing its thing, she hadn't had one in a very long time so she honestly couldn't even remember what steps you were supposed to take. Tilt your head back or something? No, that wasn't working.. She made the painstaking decision to head down to the nurse after a few minutes of cleaning up her own blood.

She entered the clean, white room with a handful of paper-towel pressed to her nose.

"Honey Lemon?"

"Oh, hey Max!" She laughed a bit at herself for forgetting that her friend volunteered at the nurses office for one of his classes.

"What seems to be the issue?" The short boy smiled with a clipboard pressed to his chest and a pen tucked behind his ear. "Oh! Please, sit down while I sign you in."

"Oh, it's nothing serious, just a bloody nose that I can't seem to shake." She nodded as she sat down in one of the blue, plastic chairs.

"Ok, how did you get it?" He walked over to a desk and grabbed some gauze and medical tape before sitting in a chair across from her.

"Uhm.. it's a funny story actually.." He tended to her nose while she spoke, lifting her chin and tilting her head back while he dabbed at the droplets of blood then wiped away the dried liquid with a damp gauze. "But I'll spare you the whole sob-story and just leave you with the main point - Tadashi kinda greeted me this morning with a locker to my face." Honey Lemon chuckled a bit at herself - again - the situation still embarrassing but also rather humorous in retrospect.

"That's terrible, does your head hurt?"

"A little.." She admitted truthfully.

"On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?"

"Uh a five I guess."

"OK, you sit here and keep these gauzes pressed to your little nose while I grab you some painkillers." He stood up and left her sitting there till her returned and thoughtfully twisted the cap off before handing her two small tylenol pills and a glass of water, he was honestly so good at what he did. "You like him don't you?"

Honey nearly choked on her water. "I'm sorry, _what_?" How random of him.

"It's pretty easy to see. You always look at him differently than anyone else, it's adorable actually."

"Max, come on.."

"So can I take that as a yes?" He chuckled with his usual cheeky smile that Honey just found absolutely contagious.

"Yes." Honey sighed not seeing any point in lying to the boy.

"Well don't worry; I won't say a word. He's completely oblivious to it anyway. But I will mention that he's kinda tricky, he doesn't really like when people pry into his details. I think that some sort of event in his life is keeping him troubled. He hasn't told me much about himself but just be patient with him, okay?" Max smiled a little and Honey greatly appreciated the consideration.

"Thanks, Max, you're a wonderful friend."

Honey managed to make it to first period on time, and the one after that and so on. The day continued pretty normally after that incident. And then the bell that signaled lunch gave her a small tinge of happiness. So she rushed off to their table in the outside courtyard. It was a rather peaceful place, there were a few short trees and a nice stony path that branched in several different directions throughout the short, green grass.

"Hey guys, where's Tadashi?" Honey frowned a little when she noticed his absence, Max was the first to answer.

"I don't think he's coming to lunch today.. Something about having to retake a test."

That was a lie, Honey knew that but no one else did. The real reason Tadashi wasn't at their table was because he didn't want to face this one little problem that Honey wasn't even upset about anymore.

"Ok well I guess we'll just see him tomorrow." Honey smiled as she sat down, seeming to take the news rather well. All until she looked back up to Max and he mouthed the word 'no' while shaking his head, a sad look in his eyes. Honey Lemon became kinda nervous but she didn't have time to even think about asking because Max had already moved on.

"Hey so how about we all exchange numbers real quick, just incase we need to reach eachother?" Max didn't even leave time for the group to reply, he just pulled out a sheet of lined paper and wrote the digits of his phone number on little pieces that he tore off before passing them out to the table members.

But Honey's was a little different. It had Max's number - which was labeled with his name and a smiley face- but then underneath his number was a second one scribbled on and the hardly ilegable words 'Tadashi's # - text him!' Honey followed suit with everyone else and typed the numbers into her phone, then she texted Tadashi.

**To: Tadashi Hamada **

**Hey, man, where were you today?**

**\- Honey Lemon**

_**Sent**_

Over a span of four hours, Honey had sent him three worried texts - not one of them was read. Finally, she just decided she'd call him. It rang and it rang but he never picked up. His voicemail introduced his name then beeped.

"Hey! Uhm - so I was just kinda wondering where you're at, and if you're okay.. Max said that I shou -"

"Hi Aiko." His voice sounded sad, kinda like he had a stuffy nose also - almost like he had been.. _crying._

"Are - uh - are you alright?" She asked in a shy voice, remembering that Max said he didn't enjoy when people pried.

There was an agonizing amount of silence before he spoke again.

"No -" She could hear him sniff and choke on his tears, he was crying. "I'm not.. I'm _really_ not. I just - uhm." Another sniff and a tear filled scoff. "Can you come over?" She could hear him sob and it just broke her heart.

"Yeah, I'll - uh - I'll be right over."

**I hope you enjoyed! Also, I will be asking for suggestions of different characters you'd like to see in this fanfic so in the reviews if you'd like to leave a suggestion for a character you'd prefer to see in this story, let me know! I'd love, love, LOVE if you did that! You're going to see characters like Ariel, and Rapunzel soon so just let me know what else you'd like to see! And hang around for the next killer chapter because I have a full battery on my laptop and a five hour car ride! haha yikes.**


	6. It's Been A Long Day

**So a lot has happened in this chapter but it's setting up for a great amount of tadahoney hang out time. hahaha anyway, don't forget to leave suggestions for characters and enjoy the chapter!**

**Also, I hope now you understand why Tadashi has been so closed off in past chapters!**

* * *

Honey grabbed her keys and hopped into her pastel pink BMW bug. She was driving faster than she normally would - almost Gogo like speed - but made it to the cafe safely. Honey was a little happy that she was going to be at Tadashi's hanging out outside of school... But then she remembered that he was crying. She wouldn't be able to guess whats wrong, she didn't know him well enough to even guess what could have upset him. She hardly knew him _at all_, they had been friends for -what - two months and she barely knew anything beyond his name. But now was her chance, he was _inviting _her in, to peek behind the curtain of his life and _that_ was exciting. She effortlessly pushed the glass door open and was greeted by a jingling bell and a quiet, emotion-drained Aunt Cass.

"Hello, Aiko.. Tadashi's upstairs, his room is on the third floor and to the left. Be patient with him today, he wants to talk about it but he's really hurting." Cass spoke in a quiet voice, giving Honey her instructions - but she was kinda confused.

"Uhm, what exactly does he want to talk about?" and why did people keep telling her to be patient?! She wouldn't ask that one aloud but did everyone just assume that she was an impatient and obnoxious person? She sure hoped she didn't come off like that.

"Tadashi didn't tell you?" She seemed kinda shocked, like she couldn't understand why he didn't share this oh-so important news.

"No.. he doesn't really talk much."

"Aiko, his mother died."

"Oh no! That's awful!" She hurried to the stairs, glad that Aunt Cass had told her the situation so she was prepared and knew more how to handle it. Honey's grandfather died not too long ago so she knew what it was like to experience a death in the family. When she reached his door she knocked. it had a cute little sign hanging from it that read his name and a few little smiley faces drawn on it. "Tadashi..? Can I come in?"

"Uhm.. give me a second." He called back and there was a bit of shuffling from behind the door before his footsteps became closer. He sniffed then slowly pulled it open. The boy was heartbreaking to look at, his nose and eyes were red and tears streamed down his face despite his constant wiping.

"Tadashi I'm so so-" She stepped in his room but didn't get to far before he tackle-hugged her and began to sob. At first Honey was shocked but she immediately shook it off and wrapped her arms around him, letting him cry.

"She's gone." He managed to choke out the words before continuing to sob.

"I know, i know it's sucks so bad... and I'm so so sorry." She was happy to be there for him, she just wished it didn't take a tragedy to actually get closer to him. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He didn't say anything but he showed approval of that question when he led her to his bed and closed the door before sitting down next to her.

Honey obeyed the advice from the others and was patient with him. It took a while but between sobs he managed to choke out the whole story, saying that just last summer his parents got into a car crash and his father died. A horrible accident that put his mother in ICU, he and Hiro were moved into his Aunt's house and were expected to wait until their mother got better. She had been hospitalized for months now - it sounded like he said seven - but she never got better. with a broken neck and many cracked ribs, the surgery that they _attempted_ to give her ultimately failed. Today they pulled the plug. Apparently Tadashi missed half the day today to go home but he ended up at the hospital. He described to Honey how absolutely furious he was with them.

His mother could've lived. Yes, the surgery failed but it was their decision to let her die. Honey didn't even want to try to explain to him that they really had no choice, she just listened to him and let him talk. But finally it all made sense, last summer was when he... changed, and it was because he had to go through such a horrible thing. It probably took a huge toll on his happiness, she just hoped this one didn't make life even worse for him in the long run.

"I'm sorry, Tadashi." She tucked a small piece of her butterscotch hair back behind her ear then rested that same hand on his shoulder. "I wish there was something I could do to make everything better for you. Seeing you in pain just hurts me terribly."

"It's okay, I just need some time."

"No, yeah I get it. Hurting in a situation like this is natural, it will take time to get better. Just, for your family, I hope that time isn't too long." For the second time in an hour, Tadashi gave her a big hug.

"Thanks so much Honey Lemon."

_Woah_. Did he just? "Hey, you used my nickname! You never do that." She smiled a bit but felt bad for it after.

Tadashi laughed a bit - actually laughed! _score _\- before sitting up straight, "Well yeah, I can use it right?"

"Of _course_!" She chuckled. "I've actually been wondering why you _haven't _been calling me by it."

"Oh, well that's an easy question to answer." He smiled and sniffed a bit, cheering up already. "I really like your name, and since you're important to me I'd like to address you properly... However if you prefer Honey Lemon then I think I can adjust." She smiled widely at his response that simply warmed her heart.

"Yes, I'd love that."

Honey didn't leave right after, she actually stayed for dinner! Apparently everyone wanted her there - including Mochi, the cat. As she and Tadashi sat on the couch watching one of her favorite movies with Hiro, Aunt Cass was cooking. Tonights 'special' was spaghetti with meatballs and a lovely garden salad. Of course, though, the owner of a cafe would know how to cook a mean tomato sauce. Towards the end of the movie, "Monster Reactions" - A corny movie about a chemical experiment gone wrong - Cass called the group to a small, retro, table. It was orange, round, and perfectly seated the four of them.

"Thanks for the food Aunt Cass!" Hiro, a short, shaggy haired boy that looked like a much younger Tadashi exclaimed excitedly before sitting down. Honey was still apalled by the fact that the eleven year old boy was in high school, he was brave to actually attend the few days that he did. High school is no place for a helpless kid.

"No problem Hiro, I feed you everyday three times a day so I don't see any reason for stopping." She chuckled back.

"Thanks Cass." Tadashi sat down next to Hiro and Honey as he spoke.

"Yeah, thank you." Honey smiled and nodded, trying to be polite.

Honey felt some awkward silence in the group, for a while she worried it was her, but the main problem was their loss. No one knew whether to talk about it or keep quiet or what. So there were natural pauses, but Honey tried to ask about Tadashi while she had her chance.

"So Tadashi," She smiled after finishing a bite of pasta. "Have you always lived here?"

Of course he said no, but he continued off of that, talking about his life _actually_ talking about his life.

"I grew up in a small two bedroom house with my mom and dad," He explained. "I was always interested in creating and inventing and I won the science fair every year! Actually, I plan on joining it this year too!"

"Really? I was also considering it." She smiled happily and leaned forward in her chair. "Ooh, maybe we could join together?"

"Maybe," He nodded looking as though he put at least a considerable amount of thought into the idea. "I'll have to show you some of my work! I have sketchbooks filled with unfinished ideas, you'll have to come over again sometime to help me test a few out!" Tadashi laughed liking the idea more and more as he spoke.

"I'd love that, I'm sure your ideas are great." Honey Lemon felt pretty damn happy with herself, she convinced Tadashi Hamada to let her back into his apartment to hang out again! She was starting to open him up and she couldn't be happier to see the _real_ Tadashi finally coming out of his shell.

After dinner, Honey helped with the dishes then bid them farewell, giving Tadashi and Hiro one last hug then meeting Cass at the door.

"Thank you for everything." Honey nodded.

"No, thank _you_. Tadashi is already feeling better, our whole family is. You have some sort of magical joy that you project on everyone around you. I'm truly greatful that Tadashi has found you as a friend and I hope to see you around more, kiddo." Aunt Cass showered Honey with wonderful compliments and then a big hug.

"I hope so too."

"Have a good night Aiko." She released the embrace then opened the door.

"You too Aunt Cass." Honey Lemon waked out and to her car. The drive was short and peaceful as she hummed to her favorite tune, it had been a great day. Her parents weren't home but regardless, she was greatful beyond compare to be able to have both of them. And she didn't stop thinking about it until she fell asleep in her cute little queen sized bed, snuggled up in her pastel pink sheets.


	7. Oh My GALLIUM!

**Sorry about my semi-hiatus! I've been rather busy but hopefully I can get a weekly chapter to you now! To make up for my absence, I wrote a rather exciting, eventful, and long chapter! Enjoy!**

The next monday was… different, to say the least. Tadashi was back and still rather devastated but he seemed more involved, had Honey actually gotten through to him? She didn't want to speak too soon but she definitely hoped so. But it was rather surprising that Tadashi had actually found _her_ that morning while she was reading in the courtyard.

"Hey Honey Lemon! Don't worry I'm not armed with a locker today!" He chuckled sitting down next to her at a small circular table.

"Hey Tadashi! I'm glad to hear it!" She smiled and laughed with him as she pushed a fluorescent colored bookmark into her current novel then shut it. "How are you?" She asked tucking her hair behind her ear and turning to face him.

"Oh I'm great! Just filling to the brim with wonderful ideas for _our _science fair project." Tadashi pulled a small leather bound notebook from his backpack and setting it on the table. It was that same notebook that had sprouted their very first conversation - and what a terribly wonderful conversation that was. "That's right, it's the sacred notebook that you are now free to flip through." He chuckled nervously, showing that he obviously regretted snapping at her that day by scratching the back of his neck.

Honey Lemon smiled and started skimming through the pages, so enveloped in the wonderful ideas that she hardly noticed Tadashi leaning over her shoulder, or their closeness… "Oh my goodness! All of these are so wonderful!" She looked over at him with an eager grin, but to her surprise, his face was a lot closer to hers than expected. That left her with a sort of dumbfounded look on her face but she shook herself out of it when he started speaking again.

"Thanks! I know there's a few calculation errors in some of them, but thats only because I've never been the best at chem, I assumed that we could hang out sometime and you could get all the problems straightened out." Tadashi spoke while backing up.

"Definitely." Her smile continued to grow, she wasn't sure where the current situation was going but she was definitely excited… and nervous. They were closer than they had ever been before, was she supposed to say something? Best friends don't just stare at eachother like this do they? She never got to find out, the bell sounded and it nearly made her jump out of her seat. "Oh!" Her back straightened and they both backed up a bit before standing up. "How about tonight actually? I can just stop by for a brief discussion and some coffee. We may even have time to chose a definite project."

"Yeah that sounds great, I'm sure Cass would be fine with that!" He nodded with a smile as he slung his bag over his shoulder, they continued to smooth out the nights plans until they had to split ways at their neighboring first period classes. "See ya at lunch!" He nodded as he gave a wave good bye.

"See ya!"

Her classes today followed their usual, uneventful patterns, so she was just elated when the final bell rang, ending the day. Especially since she was heading to Tadashi's this afternoon, she just had to head home and do some chores.

"Hey Mom!" Honey Lemon called as she slipped her shoes off and dropped her bag before advancing into her home.

"Oh Aiko you did come home, I worried you wouldn't be here to vacuum." Her mother chuckled and gave her a hug once she emerged from the kitchen. Her mother was a short, dirty-blonde, that shared many other qualities with Honey, other than height. There was an apron wrapped around her waist and sweat beaded at her forehead, proving she had been cooking all day.

"Of course I'm here! What have you been cooking, it smells so good!" Honey smiled and sniffed the air around her.

"Nothing too serious, just a nice beef stew." Her mom wiped the sweat from her face with her forearm.

"Sounds delish but sadly I won't be around to have any, I've made plans to go to Tadashi's place." Honey smiled proudly, overjoyed that those words were starting to come out of her mouth a lot lately.

"That boys place again? That's the third time in the last few weeks! Is there something you're not telling me?" Her tone was filled with horrible teasing and mocking, though, Honey was still happy that other people were noticing the closeness between her and Tadashi too.

"No mother, we're just working on a science fair project, don't worry!"

After a long hour of tidying up, Honey slide her shoes back on and grabbed her backpack once again. The drive to Tadashi's place was only about five minutes which made her very happy, the only thing more convenient would be if they lived on the same street!

She hopped out of her car once she got there, beaming with joy the second she pulled up. Tadashi really did have a great family.. Well, what was left of it. But Aunt Cass was clearly wonderful with them, they were all so happen together, despite their recent loss.

Honey took a breath in then knocked, for some reason she was becoming nervous. She was worried that maybe her second visit wouldn't go as well. That idea was quickly removed from her head, though, when the door was pulled open and Cass immediately brought Honey into a big hug.

"Oh you really are here!" Cass said in a relieved tone, "I was worried Tadashi was just messing with me!"

"Hey Cass!" Honey chuckled a bit and pushed her glasses back onto her nose after she had been let go.

"Is Aunt Cass harassing you?" Tadashi interjected with a laugh in his voice, he emerged from the stairs with a wonderful smile.

"No, no of course not!" Honey Lemon shook her head with a smile. She was rather surprised when Tadashi came right up to her and also pulled her into his arms, giving her a nice squeeze. It was so sweet and it made her tummy turn inside out, what a wonderful thing for him to do. She just couldn't stop blushing, and thats when she noticed that something clicked in Aunt Cass's head. The woman's face went from a soft smile to a little shocked and then right into a sly, teasing smirk. Honey Lemon only chuckled before snapping herself out of her trance and patting Tadashi's back awkwardly before pulling away. "Hey!" She stated simply, "So… Why don't we go upstairs and take a look at those project ideas!"

"Yeah definitely! Sounds good!" Tadashi lead the way to his bedroom, then grabbed his book and pulled her along to the living room where they both found a spot on the couch, Hiro sat on the floor in front of them, turning around at their entrance.

"_Hey Tadashi."_ Hiro spoke in a sing-song kind of voice, teasing the two of them. His tone was that of a third grader that may have been saying 'you can't catch me' "_I see you brought your __**girlfriend**__ over again."_ That word echoed in her head, sure they weren't dating and probably never would.. but - wow - a lot of people were starting to tease the two of them!

"_Hey _Hiro." She extended her words trying to tease him back a bit, he wasn't phased, he only smiled at her.

"Hiro, she isn't my girlfriend." Tadashi said with a kind of nervous smile.

Yes, those words were terrible to hear, and one may have thought they'd be enough to break her down… But they'd be wrong, because despite those words being said, they _way_ they were said was even more important. He didn't say it like he hated the idea, he didn't sound disgusted or mad. If anything, he only sounded a tad awkward, but that was good! He was nervous about the topic! Other than that he only smiled a bit while a pinkish tone warmed his cheeks. Honey felt like she'd just won a stuffed animal on one of those impossible claw machines in an arcade; this was truly a score for her.

"Whatever." Hiro chuckled acting as though he didn't believe what his brother was saying - despite it being the awful truth - and returned to his video game that he had been playing before.

"...And so if you just subtract the negative 73 and solve for _'x'_ you can find exactly how many liters of vinegar you have to add to the mixture." Honey smiled pointing at different numbers on the current page of his note book that they were looking at. "You almost had it, you just forgot to carry the square."

"I did, didn't I?" Tadashi laughed at himself before looking up when Cass entered the room.

"I brought snacks for you hardworking kids.. and Hiro." She chimed with a smile.

"Hey! Defeating the Death Lord isn't easy!"

"Death Lord? Goodness, what games are you playing? They're hurting your smart little brain." Aunt Cass chuckled and fluffed Hiro's black hair before handing him a small bag of chips.

"And yours," With a nod, she set a tray in between the two of them, it held a bowl of popcorn and two milkshakes. _Chocolate milkshakes_.

"No way! Free chocolate shakes?" Honey sung with joy, Aunt Cass's milkshakes were the absolute _best!_ Of course, they were homemade and everything, though, so it wasn't a surprise.

"Of course! You're part of the family now kid!" Those words alone made Honey's heart warm, she loved these three so much already. It was all just such a good environment to be in. "Plus, since I'm off the clock I technically can't charge." Cass added in more of a whisper before laughing and they all chuckled with her.

"Thanks, Cass!" Honey nodded taking a big sip.

"Oh please! Call me _Aunt _Cass." She gave a wink before heading back into the dining room to continue clean up from the nights dinner.

After finishing their milkshakes and popcorn, Honey took a look at the clock to see an unexpected hour. "Oh! It's nine o'clock, I should've left an hour ago.. I still have a unit test to study for."

"Wow did time fly!" Tadashi scratched the back of his neck with a chuckle. "Well, come on then, I'll walk you to your car." And he did, they made finalizations on their project idea, coming to a quick, and final decision that they were going to make their own markers through different plant pigments, and a few different chemicals of course - that way they could still enter under the chemistry topic.

"Thanks for having me over!" Honey smiled and turned to him once they stopped at her car.

"No, thank _you_ for being here! You've helped me out a lot the past few days and you're just really great to be around.. I'm glad we're friends." He nodded, not even flinching when he said those words, which made Honey even happier.

"Yeah, yeah. anytime! Actually, when should I come over for a follow up, 'science fair project meeting?'"

"Whenever, since it's due date is nearing though, it may be best if you came over tomorrow?"

"Definitely, that sounds good!" She nodded with a smile. And for a moment, that was all that was said; after that they just kind of… looked at each other, and didn't say anything.

"Aiko?" He finally broke the silence but, _ugh_, _why_ did he have to use her name?"

"Yeah?"

"I uhm… I - I think that.." He bit his bottom lip and glanced at the ground, then back at her. After another long moment, he sighed a little and leaned toward her. It happened _so_ quickly! Honey didn't even have time to prepare herself for the moment that their lips met, her eyes widened in shock. _Where did that come from?!_ They held the kiss for what seemed like forever, Honey Lemon finally melted into it, sinking against her car where he had her pinned to. This was a lot to take in, she was _thrilled_, it was like every single part of her body was singing, but she just couldn't grasp what had come over him.

She could _taste _his minty breath and his lips were so soft. Then, as if they couldn't get any closer, he snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her into him. With their lips pressed together, and their bodies against each other, this was _the_ _closest _they'd _ever _been.

And it was absolutely _perfect._

Soon he pulled away and ran a hand through his messy hair. "Uhh.." He cleared his throat then laughed _very_ nervously. "Sorry… about that. Uhm, have a good night."

He nodded before quickly turning to go, leaving her there alone.

"Tadashi…?" But he was already going back inside the cafe.

When Honey arrived home, she ran up the stair to her room, literally _throwing_ her bag up in the air and singing with joy while she danced around her room.

He kissed her! _Tadashi Hamada had kissed her!_ It was like a dream come true! Honey Lemon spun around her room and laughed for ten minutes, unable to wipe the smile from her face.

**OK AAAHHHHH! Even I'm happy with that chapter and **_**I **_**wrote it! Like I said, in the reviews you should mention characters you'd like to see in later chapters because I'm going to start expanding this story real soon!**


	8. Call It Whatever

**AUTHORS NOTE**

**Hello to anyone who may be reading this, it's been over a year since I last updated this story and I am sorry for that. Over the months, I have read and reread what I have written, returning to it every once in a while, wondering if I could pick it back up, longing to finish what I started, and wondering how I could possibly keep it going. For too long this has sat open ended, catching dust in its brief chapters with unanswered questions. Chapters that are so brief - some even so crappy - that I sometimes wish I could just start it all over in its entirety. I've tried countless times to pick this back up, so many half finished chapters in my documents, so many plot outlines, etc. But what I had given myself to work with was something I wasn't able to mold into an absolutely satisfying and coherent order of events. If i'm honest, when I started this story two years ago I was very naive, I had no initial plan other than 'lets write a tadahoney fanfic!' but soon it became something special to me and I tried to do whatever I could to make it ****_interesting_**** and ****_exciting_**** just something bold and different and I'll admit.. in trying to achieve this exciting story I made illogical advances in the plot, I had so many ideas that were good but just not thought out thoroughly enough, nothing was elaborated or detailed enough. Which is why I decided to delete the last two chapters. I concluded that - while I did and still do truly love the twist of Callaghan being a psycho freak - it just didn't fit in with the world I had created. And because I was coming up with all of this on the spot, there was no development toward this plot twist, it was genuinely out of left field and executed very poorly. So please forgive me for bending the laws of time and deleting a fragment of my story, I promise, though, it is so much better this way. You see, over the past month or so I have been working very diligently on writing the ending that I am satisfied with, all the twists and turns are well thought over and explained and planned, every word has been read and reread a hundred times and I can confidently say that I am finally happy with what I have created. This story is my baby, it documents my growth as a writer, it is something that I now hold near and dear to my heart, I have put so much time and effort into what I have achieved and I really hope that you love it just as much as I do.**

_**Without further adieu, here is the true, completed story of Failing At Love.**_

_**Special thanks to anyone who has been here since the very beginning, patiently waiting for closure: i luv u ;)**_

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All the way through the morning, Honey Lemon couldn't shake that foolish grin, it was almost plastered on her face, stretching from ear to ear. She sat up from her bed smiling; stretching out her arms, curling her toes and wrists like a cat, still smiling. Combing her hair she hummed a merry tune, pulling on a yellow dress, putting on her makeup, gathering her things into her school bag - still smiling. She skipped down the stairs and into the kitchen where she was greeted by her mother sitting at the breakfast table.

"Good morning, Mother!" She waltzed over and kissed her mom on her prominent cheekbone that hardened her soft, slim face.

"'Morning sweetheart, the Hamadas gave me a box of pastries when I stopped by for our coffees this morning so help yourself." Her mother gave an absent minded wave of her hand as she referred to the decorative box on the marble counter. She was half distracted as she flipped through the pixelated news that was displayed on her iPad mini. They continued small talk as Honey danced about the small kitchen, grabbing the large, paper cup of coffee with her name on it - her _nick_name - and a flaky pastry from the box of a dozen other pastries from the Cafe "Did you know they're planning on televising your science fair? Principle Krei says it'll be a good way for young scientists like yourself to get noticed by colleges." The middle-aged woman took a sip of her own coffee then glanced up at Honey from behind her large, round reading glasses.

"Rewlly?" Honey Lemon's eyebrows lifted up and she smiled even more, this time with pastry and powdered sugar in her mouth, muffling her words. They both laughed and Honey finished her bite before continuing her sentence. "That's really exciting!" She nodded with that same smile that still hadn't left her lips.

"Yeah, so now you _really_ need to win." Her mom joked but was still serious enough.

"Don't worry mom, Tadashi and I will figure out a way to blow the judges away!" Honey nodded while she slid on her tan, heeled boots and bid her mom farewell.

In her car, she sung along with the music and soaked in the surprisingly warm winters day. Little flakes of frost crawled along the edges of her windshield, but didn't reach more than an inch out on either side as the warmth of the sun held them back, their crystallized claws seemed more beautiful today. She pulled into her usual parking spot next to Gogo, who was waiting for her, leaning against her vibrant sports car, then walked with her into the building.

"What's wrong with you?" Gogo poked fun at Honey after a minute of walking in silence. "You haven't stopped smiling since you got out of the car, and I don't think you've blinked either; are you okay?"

The only sound she could muster up was a high-pitched squeal of absolute excitement.

"_Ow_, watch it ear-blood, unless you're trying to communicate with bats that sound you just made should never happen again."

She laughed at her friend and took a couple seconds to compose her giggling self then stopped walking and turned to Gogo. "Tadashi Hamada _kissed me!" _She spoke in a sing-song voice and waited for Gogo's reaction.

"_OH MY GOD WHAT!_" The shorter girl shook her violently and her voice reached Honey Lemon levels of loud. "That's amazing, that's incredible, that's _insane_!" Her best friend fuled her excitement with reciprocated enthusiasm as Honey explained the whole thing on the way to first period. They went their separate ways outside of Honeys class where she waited for Tadashi. "See ya later, heartbreaker." The dark haired girl winked at her as she walked away.

It was such an incredible feeling, being able to talk about Tadashi the way she did while also being able to have him as her own. Well, not technically her own yet and maybe she was getting a little bit ahead of herself but not without reason. The change in their relationship had been so significant over the past few months, going from strangers, to friends, to best friends and now… well she wasn't entirely sure if there was any appropriate label yet but she didn't mind. Pretty much all her dreams had come true after just that one kiss so she was pretty happy with whatever for the time being. Clearly, however, she had spoken too soon because as it turned out, 'whatever' wasn't as satisfying as she thought it'd be. Tadashi never showed up to say good morning to her outside of their classes. He wasn't in second period and even more concerning, he wasn't at their lunch table either. She had texted him once during math and another two times throughout the course of lunch break. It wasn't until she was on her way to Chemistry that she received a text back.

**Tadashi Hamada:**

**Golden Gate Park on 3rd Street**

She knew that place, her and her friends went there once over the summer for a festival. It was a beautiful park about fifteen minutes from school but that didn't mean she was about to drop everything to go there, or was she? At this point she didn't know what to do, clearly he wanted her to meet him there and she wanted that too but - it was the middle of a _school day_, Honey was on her way to chemistry right now! She glanced at the door to her class where Mr. Callaghan was greeting his students, then she looked back down at her phone and sighed. She had never missed a day of school in her life let alone _ditch_, but as she pivot turned on her heels and started walking toward the exit, she decided that there was a first for everything.

On the drive to the park so many other things occupied her mind, suddenly seeing Tadashi didn't seem as important anymore. She had to figure out what to tell her mom, but her mom could read Honey like a kindergarten book, she would know if she was lying. Would the truth be a good enough answer? What was she going to miss in Chemistry? Probably nothing she didn't already know but still, it was _chemistry_! After having a painstaking, fifteen minute break down, she made it to the park.

It really was a beautiful place, the massive, bright red bridge stretched across the ocean from their island of Sanfransokyo to the neighboring land. Cherry blossoms lined the stone pathways, their rosy petals floating through the air, most all of the trees were bare now as the cold winds shook their color away. She followed the main path to find him sitting on a worn down bench a ways away from the path, facing the water. That smile returned to her lips again. She had been worried so much all day that she almost forgot how happy he made her. She draped her tan scarf more securely over her shoulder then took the spot next to him. For a while, neither one of them said anything, even though she had so many things to say, she waited still. It was part of her plan of being 'patient' since everyone seemed to think she lacked such a quality.

The water took deep breaths in and out as the waves lapped the shoreline. It was pretty calm today and being the middle of a Tuesday in december, there weren't a lot of people there. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he spoke.

"My mother always came here to think."

He sighed.

"But no matter how hard I try, I can't get my thoughts straight.." She could tell something was off, he kept clasping and unclasping his hands, fidgeting his feet. "I've gone through a lot lately I and I hope you understand that -"

She waited.

"That everything you've done for me, means so much… But I need you to understand that, I was just really lonely."

Her smile twisted into an expression that she was unsure of as she realized what he was saying maybe wasn't so sweet after all.

"I do like you Aiko.." There it was, he didn't need to say anymore. It wasn't just the fact that he used her first name but also how he said it. It wasn't just something that rolled off the tongue, it wasn't an accident, he wasn't doing it to 'respect her.' It was intentional, clear as day and cold as night. She wouldn't get mad though, she'd be patient and see where this led. "I do like you, but I just need more time. I know it was my fault that this started at all but.. What happened last night shouldn't have happened that's all."

She nodded, staring straight ahead to avoid looking at his beautiful face that was gazing over at hers, knowing that if she snuck a peek at his chestnut eyes that warmed her heart like hot cocoa, she wouldn't be able to keep her composure. A silent tear rolled down her cheek at the truth of the matter.

"I'm not saying never, I'm just saying not right now. Please be okay with that for now, I need you to be okay with that for now." He was sincere, she knew he was and she accepted what he had said but no matter how badly she wished it didn't, it still broke her heart. There was a long pause before she could finally will herself to speak.

"Okay.." Her breath staggered as she sucked in air to attempt to calm herself.

"Alright." He nodded, knowing that went about as well as he expected it to go.

Neither one of them said anymore, sitting side by side, watching the waves rhythmically hit the sand.


	9. Get Well Soon

The rest of the week went by considerably fast. It was rather monotonous with Tadashi spending less time with her. Things weren't awkward, she still went over on Thursday to work on their project and they still had fun but it was so much different. Thursday at his place was a long process of trial and error after they had changed their project entry to something with more of a wow factor in hopes of impressing the judges and scholarship scouts. Now their project was centered on Honey Lemon's favorite chemistry reaction; chemical metal embrittlement. They sketched out ideas for five different types of reactions between a golf ball sized, sillicon sphere and different elements. One exploded into a colorful pink powder under pressure, another created ice on the surface it breaks upon, the other made a gelatinous goo upon impact, the fourth became a bright purple liquid and the last one evaporated into a transparent gas that smelled sweetly. Or at least, that was the goal. But even then, with all the exchanging of brilliant ideas and intense effort. It felt like everyone - even Hiro - was holding back.

That weekend the Hamada's held a wake for Tadashi and Hiro's mom and Honey and the rest of the gang were invited. There were plenty of new faces there to meet, lots of distant relatives like cousins and uncles all there to celebrate the life of what must have been an extraordinary woman.

Honey made an effort to try and introduce herself to some of Tadashi's family, she ended up having a very pleasant conversation with his grandparents. They told sweet stories of their beloved daughter and they seemed to really enjoy Honey's company claiming that she even reminded them of Tadashi's mother which flattered her.

_Ting-ting-ting. _The sound of a metal fork on a glass silenced the moving sea of black attire, solemn faces looked up toward Cass who had brought the attention of the group to her.

"Hello everyone." She started. "Thank you all for being here today, it means a lot to us. We are going to start the speeches so whoever has prepared one may line up." She nodded then stepped down from a window seat against the wall of the room for the first speaker to take the 'stage.'

Tadashi spoke first. He stepped up onto the window seat with fear swirling in his eyes, it wasn't obviously displayed on him but Honey knew his eyes and even though he was good at keeping his composure, she could see that uncertainty laid just beyond the surface. His gaze traced over the room of people until it landed on her, she gave a very small, reassuring nod that only he saw. He cleared his throat before he spoke.

"My mom… She was many things. She was the smartest girl I knew, quick-witted and sharp-minded, her jokes were fantastic. She inspired me to be so many things. She was creative and successful, the most beautiful woman I had ever known and the best mom a boy could have. She was caring and compassionate and made sure we were always happy.. Hiro was always her favorite, something about his careless attitude and inability to be mature." He chuckled a bit through watery eyes, taking a deep breath as the crowd smiled with him. "But most of all, my mom was strong. When my father passed away, she refused to cry in front of us because she knew we needed her to be strong. She never backed down from a challenge, always defended Hiro and I, and kept her chin up through thick and thin. She was strong, and I know that she loved us all so much; she would want us to be strong too."

A few tears rolled down his cheeks, people nodded as he stepped down and waited for the next person to speak. Everyone had kind words to say, or fun stories to tell. Aiko listened to each one attentively. Believe it or not she actually prepared something herself, so after a few more people told their stories she stepped up. Looking over the small room crowded with strangers made her knees wobble. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath before attempting to recite what she had prepared.

"I never knew Mrs. Hamada. I became a part of the family too late to ever get the opportunity and that is something that will always hurt me. She was the sister of my favorite aunt, and she was the mother of a little brat that I've come to love," She made a side glance to try and find Hiro but to her surprise he wasn't standing where he had been. Her brow drew together but she shook it off to continue her speech. "Uhm, but most importantly, she was the mother of my best friend. She raised two of the greatest kids I know and I can tell that she was amazing because whatever she did, and whoever she was, she certainly rubbed off on them. And I know, with all of my heart, that she would be so proud of who you've become." She smiled across the room at a glassy eyed Tadashi who was smiling back at her and then she nodded and stepped down from the window seat. Gogo and Max brushed her back with soothing hands as she walked by but her mind was elsewhere.

She managed to push her way through the crowd of people listening to the next speaker and made her way to Hiro's bedroom. She knocked on the door and called for him but there was no answer. "Hiro, please open the door." Still nothing. She turned the knob and the door was pulled open by a breeze. "Hiro?" There was no sign of him, and she almost left when she noticed air coming in through a window in the ceiling, she also noticed his bunk bed made rooftop access very manageable. A soft grin lingered on her lips as she slipped her shoes off and climbed up the ladder of his bed then poked her head out of the window. Sure enough there he was sitting on the roof right where it plateaued, next to him was Mochi the cat all curled up in a voluminous furry ball. She smiled at the boy then sat down next to him without a word, taking in the view. He didn't even flinch when she took a seat beside him, just kept looking straight ahead.

"The view is pretty nice from up here." She spoke softly and carefully after a while, hoping to get him speaking.

"She shouldn't have died, they shouldn't have killed her.." He croaked and sputtered as tears that he had been silently letting fall started to flow more violently now between his words. He fell into her, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face in her stomach.

Honey was shocked, and it was visible on her face. She wasn't really sure how to handle this situation but she simply sighed, "I know… I know.." She whispered brushing his hair back with one hand and holding him to her with the other. "I'm so sorry Hiro-" He pushed himself off of her and looked up at her with sad, frustrated eyes, his face twisting as he cut her off and tried to sound as stern as possible.

"Would everyone just stop saying they're sorry! What does saying sorry do?! No matter how many times you say it she's still _dead!_" He pulled his knees to his chest and hid his face in his folded arms, letting himself sob. Honey Lemon closed her eyes and sighed, she didn't know what else to say.

"And stupid Tadashi is in there telling everyone to be '_strong'_ and be '_okay'_ like nothing ever even happened! But you can't just act like nothing ever happened, my mom died.. How could I possibly be 'okay,' how could I smile through this?" She understood what he was saying, he felt like he needed to be sad for her, like being happy again would be disrespectful to her.

"Hiro," She tread carefully with her words and scooted closer to him, putting one of her slim arms around him. "You're allowed to be sad if you feel that you need to be. But you're allowed to be happy too. People deal with grief in many ways. Tadashi, he's being strong and he's letting himself smile, but that doesn't mean he misses your mother any less. You can be sad for some time but please don't let it keep you down forever. I didn't know your mom, but I do know that she would want you to be happy." she hugged him tight and he leaned into her. For some time she just let him cry it out, neither one of them talked anymore. She scratched Mochi's head who was on the other side of Hiro, with her hand that was draped around him. The calico cat started to purr, the soothing rumble was the only sound heard over the distant noise of traffic from the city below.

After a while of just sitting, she spoke again. "I'm going to go back down to be with everyone else, stay up here as long as you need to, but I hope you make your way back soon." She brushed his hair back then kissed the top of his head before getting up and making her way back down the ladder.

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**Chapter 8 was really short so I am posting this one with it as a little bonus because this one is pretty short too! But from here on out I am only posting a chapter a day until it's completion, unless I change my mind and decide to be nice of course! Haha but anyway, I hope my long overdue return is a happy thing! I love reading reviews so please, if you have anything to say, say it! Reviews are what make me feel like all the time I've spent was worth it! Thank you, see you tomorrow!**


	10. New Year, New Us

Two weeks later new year's eve was just around the corner and everyone was making plans to figure out which party they were going to. The gang had all decided to throw their own personal party at Fred's mansion, his parents were away on a vacation to the family island so they could be as loud as they wanted, and Tadashi had never been to his place so Fred was excited to have someone new to show around. As Honey Lemon packed her small, overnight bag and kissed her mom goodbye, the air around her seemed to suddenly feel less heavy. It had been a hard month without being able to interact with Tadashi the way she wanted to, without seeing him outside of school all the time, and sure this party wasn't going to magically make him a different person but it was a _party_, he had to be a little more laid back this time.

When she arrived at Fred's mansion, Heathcliff, Fred's butler, opened her car door for her, escorted her inside to the game room -which was probably the size of her house - and took her white, faux fur jacket to hang it up. All the boys were already there, crowded around one of Fred's many arcade machines, shouting and hollering, not even acknowledging her presence. She laughed at their foolishness, pressed to the machine, cheering on Wasabi at whatever game he was playing. Walking closer, she could somewhat see the action through the tangle of people, colors exploded off the screen in 8-bit magic, Wasabi's character danced around the opponent and the cacophony coming from their group sounded like nothing more than a bunch of button-mashing and screaming but she knew, to the finer eye, this was an expertise.

"Hey guys." She smiled trying to get their attention, hoping they'd at least take note of her arrival.

"Yeah hi." Fred gave her a wave of dismissal and she sighed, making her way over to a massive orange lounge chair nearby. When she sat in it, she immediately started to sink down into the plush folds, as it engulfed her thin, feather weight body in its suede claws. For a moment, she just soaked in the room around her, it lacked the same elegance that the rest of the mansion portrayed but it was still an incredible space. The ceilings were at least two stories high and from top to bottom, all the way around the walls, the room was lined with bookcases in which thousands of comic books lined the shelves and rows of action figures stood. There were also glass display cases all around the room holding some of friends most prized collectors items like limited edition comic books, action figures, and even life sized costumes. Unfortunately there was only so long that Honey could quietly look around the room in that cocoon of a chair before she got bored, so she resorted to playing games on her smartphone until Gogo showed up.

The boys only ceased their endless gaming when Gogo walked in, Honey groaned at the reaction she got out of them in comparison to her own.

"Whats up party people!" Gogo called while waltzing into the lounge. She was a real head-turner, getting the attention of all the boys.

"Hey Gogo!" Wasabi called and they all walked over to her.

"Oh hey Aiko." Tadashi patted her shoulder as he passed by, only now realizing she was even at the party. She rolled her eyes and groaned throwing her head back against the memory foam of the chair wanting nothing more than for it to just swallow her whole.

"Okay guys, so, spoiler alert - I'm just the absolute greatest person you'll ever know ever." Gogo shrugged jokingly as she pulled off her backpack. At this point, Honey Lemon had joined the small crowd around the dark haired girl.

"Yeah, we know." Honey laughed half heartedly and Gogo flashed her a playful glare.

"Alright, _well,_ you're about to know it even more." And as she said this she pulled a thin, glass bottle out of her bag, no more than twenty ounces of alcohol. Honey wasn't too sure what kind of alcohol it was though, she had only ever gone to one or two parties and she wasn't exactly a seasoned drinker. The whole group sort of gawked at the substance and that's when Gogo laughed. "C'mon guys! Turn up? Let's make this party hella lit?" Honey cringed a bit when she said that, the words didn't really fit her. "Oh okay I get it, we're not your typical group of party animals but that's what will make this even more fun! It's the new year, we toast, take a couple shots and that's all! No one needs to get fall-off-their-ass drunk, we just need to learn to let loose sometimes!"

No one said anything, everyone was waiting for someone else to speak first.

"So..?" She laughed waving the bottle around a little. "What's it gonna be?"

"Okay." Honey Lemon was absolutely shocked at the voice that gave approval, everyone turned to face him. "Let's do it."

"That's the spirit, Tadashi!" Gogo nodded and started to open the bottle, everyone else soon hopped on the bandwagon.

They sat in a circle, passing the bottle around while playing a superhero edition of monopoly. Honey was the second person to take a sip and she was honestly pretty scared, she hadn't had anything to drink in a long while and she wasn't sure how she was going to react. No matter what happened, though, she wouldn't let it be displayed on her face. She lifted the glass bottle to her lips and took a swig, the bitter liquid tasted like window cleaner and it burned as it slithered all the way down into her stomach, making her body tingle. She scoffed a pitiful laugh and nodded before passing it over to Wasabi, then Fred, Then Tadashi.

After a couple rounds around the group and a couple more rounds around the board, the bottle was finished and she had forgotten to keep track of how many shots she had taken. Some people had chosen to drink more than others - specifically Fred and Gogo - but she was sure she hadn't had _too_ much and that was the most important thing to her. However, whatever increment of alcohol she did consume was definitely starting to get to her, and the rest of the group too.

Roll of the dice.

"Doubles!"

Roll again.

"..Four, Five, Six."

"I'll buy Gotham City Ave. for $500."

"You're an ass, how dare you."

"Don't hate the player, hate the game!"

She wasn't really paying attention to who was saying what anymore, her thoughts were clouded and she kept dazing off. Only when it was her turn would she fully engage herself in what was around her, yelling along with the rest of them.

"What! No you _definitely_ cheated, you rolled a three not a four!"

"Yeah, I know - Look! One, Two, Three!"

"No, no, no, see, 'cause you skipped a space!"

"No way I would never cheat!"

"Guys, guys!" Wasabi interjected in the debate that Honey was having with Fred. "Lets try to finish this game before the end of the year and just agree that Honey can stay where she is?"

"What?!" Fred threw his hands up in the air like this was the biggest disgrace he had ever heard.

All the while, Tadashi was laying back on the ground laughing his head off at the whole ordeal. That bubbly sound of his sweet laughter filled the air around her, it seemed to echo in her mind louder than any other sound in the room. She focused on it, closing her eyes and taking in every bit of the moment. All she could hear was his happy, drunken chuckle.

"Does that sound good?" A distant voice brought her back to the scene in front of her, Wasabi was tapping her on the shoulder, asking her about the conclusion of the argument. She had no clue what he had said but she simply nodded and the game went on, although not as smoothly for her now.

"Tadashi your turn!" Fred passed the dark haired boy the dice and he thoughtfully shook them up in his clasp before letting them clatter to the table. Even a task so minuscule was made so beautiful by him.

His eyebrows scrunched together, a thoughtful crinkle in his skin, his eyes squinted with determination as they scoured the board. For the entirety of the game she never took her eyes off him, it started out very pleasant as she watched him in admiration, but soon that smile left her lips. If alcohol did one thing right, it made her realize how much she adored him. In all the foggy haze of thoughts that swirled through her intoxicated mind, one thing was clear as day, she needed him in her life; and not just as friends or 'whatever.' She needed him as a partner. Even though she had promised to wait until he was ready, she wasn't sure she could put up with it any longer. She needed him now, and the alcohol was definitely not helping her resist the temptation.

"I have to pee." She said the words mechanically, getting up to leave the room. Stepping out of the room was like stepping into another universe, the scenery went from a well lighted, brightly-colored, overrated kids room to the far stretching reach of elegant, low lit halls. The wall paper was white with little golden decals swirling in beautiful patterns, all the doors were dark oak and mahogany with all their own unique carvings in them. Everything seemed to have a shine, she realized that even after all the times she had been to Fred's house, she had never really taken the time to appreciate how beautiful it was. She walked down the hall, following along the gorgeous carpet to a dead end that led to a balcony. Opening the glass, double doors let in the frigid night air and it made her more aware the second it hit her. Fresh air filled her lungs and cooled the inside of her body that was hot with liquor. It was a beautiful winter's night and the view from Fred's hillside mansion was beyond incredible. It overlooked all of Sanfransokyo, the city that never sleeps was even more alive tonight with everyone excited for the new year.

Honey Lemon sighed as she made her way to the balcony, placing her hands on the smooth, stone surface before using this leverage to push herself up on the ledge. She swung her legs over the edge so she was sitting facing the city. The fresh air helped her to sober up enough that she was much more sturdier and could keep her balance where she was perched.

There were only a couple visible stars in the sky, too much artificial light made stargazing difficult, but the few present stars winked and danced with pride. She admired the stars, wishing that she could shine as bright and be as confident as the lonely stars, instead of depending so tremendously on others.

"The fresh air really helps clear the mind doesn't it?" The glass doors opened silently allowing Tadashi's voice to ring in her ears, he sounded miles away but also so close. "You'll catch a cold out here." He chastised her, the doors clicked shut behind him as he moved from the doorway to her, draping a blanket around her shoulders before jumping up to take a seat next to her on the balcony. "Are you alright? Like, really?" He asked after a moment.

She wasn't sure how to answer that question. It seemed simple enough, the answer should've been an easy yes but - then again, she didn't really know. At times she felt alright, others not so much. She lived a comfortable life with people who loved her all around, she was well taken care of and sheltered enough that nothing had ever really had the chance to get to her. So no one ever asked her how she was doing, everyone always assumed that she was great because she always acted as such, she never really thought about it and so she didn't have a correct answer to give. It wasn't until someone finally asked how she was doing, that she realized maybe she wasn't doing so great after all. Instead of getting into that mess of feelings though, she chose silence as her response, continuing to gaze out at the twinkling lights of the city with her glossy eyes.

Her body felt numb, alcohol had that effect on her. It wasn't a bad numb, just a tingling and a sense that every part of her body was so much heavier than normal. Her eyelids felt droopy and she was no longer the bubbly and laughing person who was playing monopoly with her friends just fifteen minutes earlier. Tadashi took one of those limp hands in his own, warming her cool, pale fingers in his large calloused palms.

"Aiko..-"

"I'm tired of being patient." The words came out hushed, as though she was scared that if she said them any louder Tadashi might snap under their weight.

He tilted his head slightly liked a confused puppy dog. "I don't understand wh-"

"Everyone says that I need to be patient, that patience is key with you and if I want to get anywhere I need to make sure I give you time. Well, I'm sick and tired of always waiting for you, Tadashi."

She turned to face him now, life returning to her eyes that had previously been so emotionless.

"I need you _now_. Not tomorrow, or next week, or in a month, but now; right now."

He still watched her expression with that dumbfounded look on his face, the cold making both their cheeks burn a bright red into pale skin.

"I know that these things are uphill battles that take time and we have to make sacrifices, but I'm so tired of being the only one to lose anything." She blinked her watering eyes away before continuing. "Remember a couple weeks ago when you asked me to wait for you to be ready?" She cleared her throat. "Well this is me, here, now, begging _you_ to _try_, try for me. Please? Can we just try to make this work even for a little while, I want to know what perfection feels like."

There was a long, nerve wracking pause before a small hint of a smile spread across his lips and he started to nod. "I can't promise you perfection, but I can promise I will try."

She smiled such a big smile and he caught her contagious joy, lifting his hand to hold her chin, brushing his thumb along her cool cheek. She watched his cocoa eyes scan her face and she wondered what he thought of her. Any doubt she had of his feelings for her left as he started to lean in, closing the gap of space between them. She was so excited to feel his lips on hers once again, it had been too long since their first kiss and the cravings for him were driving her insane. And just as all her dreams were about to come true, her perfect moment was shattered.

"Hey are you two sexually confused weirdos going to come out back long enough for the countdown or does this have to happen right now?" Fred hollered at them despite being of very close proximity.

Honey Lemon felt a pull on her heart strings as Tadashi's lips ever so slightly brushed against her own before sighing and pulling away, only making her want him more.

"Yeah we'll be out in a sec." Tadashi lifted his hand in a casual wave then turned back towards Honey Lemon. "I promise I will try." He looked her directly in the eyes while he brushed her hair back then pulled her into a hug.

In his warm embrace she sighed, not moving to lock her arms around him, just taking in the moment. She listened to his heart beat steady in his chest and closed her eyes.

"C'mon, let's not keep them waiting." He patted her back then hopped down from the ledge, leaving her sitting there alone. She looked back up at the stars longingly. One day, she would shine like no one was watching just like those lonely stars.

* * *

"There's my girl!" A still tipsy Gogo called over to Honey once she found her way to Fred's backyard which was comparable to a very ornate football field.

"Heathcliff found us some fireworks that we are _totally_ going to rocket off into the sky!" Fred threw his fist in the air enthusiastically.

"Wait shut up, shut up it's almost time for the countdown, we can't miss this!" Gogo had her gaze glued to her phone screen that had a timer she found online counting down the seconds. It had been monitoring the time left in the year all night but now it was about to run out. "Okay, Okay, Ready?" There was a short pause before the girl started counting. "Ten, nine, eight..'

"..Seven, six.." The group started to join in.

"..Five, four, three, two.."

"..one." Honey whispered and while everyone cheered and jumped around, She watched them, thinking about what the new year meant. Her thoughts were cut short by the explosion of colors that showered overhead and a strong arm that snaked around her thin waist. He pulled her into him without hesitation, pressing his lips against her own. She immediately smiled through the kiss, lifting her slim fingers to caress his jaw. Her hand molded perfectly along the curves of his face like it was meant to rest there and as their lips met again she knew it was true. Call it fate, destiny, whatever. She knew that she was meant to be with Tadashi. He pulled away and just watched her face for a moment after, before giving her a strong squeeze.

Honey Lemon smiled in his embrace, watching fireworks stretch across the sky all over the city as she greeted the new year with an open mind and a warm heart.


	11. It's Official

Hot steam floated out from the depths of the ceramic cup as Honey Lemon poured piping hot, dark coffee into it. Three sugar cubes plummeted to the bottom of the black sea to dissolve and the cream dove down before resurfacing in an excellent explosion of neutral colors. She had been working at the Lucky Cat Cafe for a week now and making coffee was something that still hadn't gotten old.

She was working there as part of her new year's resolution to become less dependent on others, and part of her parents new year's resolution for her to get a damn job. Last week she only worked three out of the seven days, it was all training but still fun nonetheless, and so she decided she was going to ask Aunt Cass if she could just work everyday after school. It'd be super easy for her to help out a couple hours everyday before going home to do homework.

Aunt Cass obliged and so Honey was now on her third day in a row this week. She slid the door of the glass case around the pastries to the side so she could grab a slice of banana sesame seed bread. The white apron tied around her waist started to fall down so she re-tied it before making her way over to the customer with their order.

"Good afternoon, sir." She cautiously placed the very full cup down on the table after setting a napkin beneath it then pulled a paper packaged straw from her apron pouch, setting it down next to the cup before resting the bread on the wooden surface as well. "My name is Aiko, If there's anything else I can get for you just let me kn-_oh!_" She jumped a little when the man folded up the newspaper he was reading and set it down on the table, revealing his identity.

"Good afternoon Aiko."

"Mr. Callaghan, how are you?"

"I'm good, thank you very much, and yourself?"

"Oh ya know, busy, busy." She chuckled a little, pressing the plastic drink tray to her chest.

"That's good, very good, it's good to stay busy."

"Yeah, for sure.." Honey nodded for a second. "Uhm- is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No this is all, thank you." He smiled up at her from his chair, pulling his ceramic cup toward him then picking it up.

"Alright, great, well if you think of anything, just holler." She smirked and he jerked his head in a sort of nod back, about to take a sip when he paused, the ringing bell of the front door opening stopped him in his tracks, his gazed locked on whoever entered the restaurant.

"Actually -" He called to her as she was starting to walk away.

"Yeah?" She turned around and met him at his table along with the person he had been staring at.

"Robert Callaghan good to see ya, buddy." Honey Lemons principle, Mr. Krei, stood next to her, his hands resting in his khaki pockets.

"Alistair." He nodded along with his brief reply. Honey Lemon rocked on her heels, her line of sight wandered around the room, wanting to be anywhere but in the middle of this awkward encounter. "Aiko can I get this to-go?"

"Of course." She forced a smile before turning to leave the two of them.

"Of course…" She heard Krei chuckle half-heartedly before leaving the table as well.

Honey made a bee-line for the coffee bar and grabbed a paper to-go cup and a bag to put his bread in.

"Have a nice day, Mr. Callaghan." She spoke as she placed the containers on the table.

"Thank you Aiko." He transferred his order into the to-go containers before sliding on his coat and leaving the cafe.

Honey Lemon sighed as she returned to behind the counter, watching Krei approach her.

"Double-double, soy, to-go. Please." He ordered his drink mechanically, like it was something he did everyday, and it probably was.

She pulled the coffee pot from the machine and started to make his order. "What was that all about?" She laughed after a moment. "If you don't mind me asking."

"Ah, the old man's got an unforgiving mindset. You'd think after all these years he'd get over it, but I guess he just really wanted the principal position. We were both trying to get the job at the same time and they chose me. Robert just doesn't know when enough's enough, he can hold an incredible grudge."

She hadn't know that Callaghan was aspiring to be a principal, it seemed rather unlike him.

"Well for what it's worth, I think you were well deserving of the job." She smiled as the plastic lid popped onto the cup. She passed it to him.

"Thank you, Aiko." He took it from her in exchange for $2.59. "I'm looking forward to seeing your entry in the science fair. I hope this will be good for you."

"Thanks, Mr. Krei. I hope so too."

He nodded to her before turning to leave the cafe. The small golden bell that peeked over the door hinge jingled as he exited. From the spiral staircase, Tadashi emerged. He ran down the stairs tying on his white apron as he quickly made his way over to her.

"Good Morning," He planted a quick kiss on her cheek that warmed her heart.

"Morning." She smirked at him and gave him a side glance before looking down, her smirk stretching to a lovestruck smile. He reached around her to grab two menus then swiftly made his way over to attend to a couple that had just entered the cafe.

"Right this way." He waved and guided them to a table for two by one of the large windows. With no one currently needing her service, she was absentmindedly drawing hearts and other little doodles on her notepad that was meant for taking orders.

"You're awfully enthusiastic today, should I be worried?" She teased, glancing up from her notepad when he was back behind the counter with her. She scrunched up her nose when he gave her another quick peck on the point of it, interrupting her drawing.

"Oh come on, I have my good days." He chuckled, scratching his jaw in a casual motion.

Honey raised a suspicious brow at him, knowing very well that he had ideas running around in his complex little mind and that this was more than just a 'good day.'

"Okay, okay, you got me!" He threw his hands up in the air dramatically as though she caught him red-handed. "Aunt Cass is covering for the both of us tonight which means, your shift ends in an hour… It also means that I am taking you out on a date," He pulled the notepad and pen from her hands, placing the items on the counter behind her then laced his calloused fingers between her slim, dainty ones. "A real romantic, stupid, sappy date; and there's nothing you can do about it."

"And what if I refuse to go on this perfect date? Because, I've been really intent on focusing on my work lately, I just don't know if I could sacrifice this loss of hours." She grinned up at him and he bit his lip thoughtfully.

"Well then I guess i'll just have to carry you out of here kicking and screaming." With that, he grabbed her by her waist and pulled her into a hug, lifting her up off the ground and spinning around in a circle. Her heart sang along with their laughter, everyday with him getting better and better.

"Excuse me." A cold voice interjected their joy and Honey Lemons smile left her lips as she was set back down on the ground, making eye contact with a still frazzled Mr. Callaghan who was not amused by their romantics.

She cleared her throat and turned to Tadashi "Sounds like a plan, Stan." She said awkwardly as she gave him a fake punch to his shoulder.

"I'll talk to you later." He nodded and grabbed his notepad from a shelf underneath the counter before walking to a table to take orders, leaving her and Callaghan alone.

"Uh, what can I do for you Mr. Callaghan-?"

"Oh, don't give me that crap!" Her eyes widened at his tone.

"I'm sorry?"

"You jipped me!"

"I really don't know what you mean.."

"Don't think your customers don't read the receipts, this is a cafe not a bank so when I give you money I expect to get all my change back!" When she didn't say anything except confused mumbles he slammed the paper receipt down on the counter and pointed to the numbers. "I gave you twenty dollars to pay for my order that was six dollars and forty-nine cents and all I got back was ten dollars and fifty one cents. Do you know what that means?" She looked at the receipt. "It means you stole three dollars from me!"

"Hey what's going on?" Tadashi walked over after hearing all the commotion, his eyebrows drawn up in concern.

"Your little girlfriend here is a thief, that's what." Callaghan shook an accusing finger at her.

"I think there's a misunderstanding here." He tried to defend her.

"It was an accident Mr. Callaghan, I really am sorry. I must've miscounted-" She added but she was cut off.

"If I wanted to give you a tip, I would've done it myself, but quite frankly I found my experience here to be rather unpleasant." Honey Lemon didn't know what to say, it really was an accident. She didn't know what the cause of the money mishap was - there were plenty of possible reasons like machine malfunction or even an instantaneous inability to count correctly - but regardless it was an accident and she couldn't help the fact that Mr. Krei happened to come to the cafe at the same time Callaghan was enjoying his afternoon coffee. She just couldn't get the words out quick enough to explain herself to her teacher.

Aunt Cass was strolling down the stairs on her way to take over the cafe for the night when she noticed the dispute and ran over to them.

"Once again I truly am sorry, Sir, I can just get you your proper change now, okay?" She started to type in the code for the register when Cass arrived.

"Is there a problem, Sir?" Cass brought herself into the situation very authoritatively and Callaghan looked from her to Honey Lemon a couple times before speaking.

"Bah," He scoffed, slowly realizing what a big fuss he had made. "Keep the stupid change, but learn to keep a better eye on your employees too." He shook his head and reluctantly left the cafe. Honeys hands dropped to her sides, she was so ashamed and embarrassed.

"What happened?" Cass interrogated the two and Tadashi explained the situation. "Okay well, just double check your counting next time, alright?"

Honey Lemon nodded, not making eye contact. It was only her second week and she had already caused a riot from a customer.

"How about you two call in early, go have your fun. Hiro and I have it under control." She smiled and patted Tadashi on the back.

"Thank you, Aunt Cass." He took Honey Lemon by the hand and pulled her out from behind the counter.

* * *

After going home and getting ready and talking to her mom, Honey Lemon felt better. She wouldn't let the incident with Callaghan ruin what was supposedly going to be her perfect date with Tadashi. At five thirty there was a knock on her door.

"Have fun sweetheart, be safe!"

"I will, mom! Love you!"

"Love you too." She kissed her mom on the cheek and said goodbye. When she opened the door she was greeting by a perfect looking Tadashi, Handsome as ever.

"You look great!" Tadashi looked her up and down as she closed the front door behind her.

"You look pretty great yourself." She took his hand in her own and they walked to the car.

"You still haven't told me where we're going!" A bubbly giggle escaped her lips as he nudged her with his elbow.

"I'm surprised you're so bad at guessing where we're going!" He joked with her, but she was seriously excited to see what tonight had in store. "Here we are! Our first destination." He spoke after five more minutes of driving, while they pulled into a parking spot.

"This is the golden gate park?" She said in almost a question.

"Yeah, I know the last time we were here wasn't the most pleasant moment in our relationship, but this place really is beautiful and I was hoping we could kind of make it our spot?"

"I'd really like that." She nodded

The two of them exited the car together and went to the trunk to grab a blanket then walked to the spot by the bench on the water. They spread the blanket out on the grass and laid down side by side. It was only six at night but because it was still winter, the sky was already dark and full of twinkling stars.

"So you know how I said I always come out here to think?" He spoke as they stargazed. "Well, the other day I was thinking, and I know that it's all kind of been unspoken and whatnot… But I want to make things official, just so there's no confusion or whatever."

She could hear that he was nervous but he really shouldn't have been. He sat up to look at her and she followed.

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

Honey Lemon gnawed on her bottom lip, trying desperately to bit back her smile and happy laughter. She laced her fingers into his before letting out a sing song, happy answer. "Yes! Yes a thousand times yes!" She fell into him, sinking into the warmness of his side as they tumbled back onto the blanket. Her laughter filled the air and he chuckled with her. "You make me so happy." She whispered into his chest, her words muffled by his shirt. The only way she knew he heard her was when he pulled her even closer, giving her a soft squeeze.

From there they went to a classy restaurant, in typical fancy date fashion, for their seven o'clock reservation. The dining room was filled with a bunch of stiff, rich people and the two of them nearly got kicked out for being too loud. It was an incredible experience nonetheless but the best part wasn't even the meal. Even though her meal was amazing too, she ordered takoyaki which was one of her favorite dishes, it consisted of pancake balls that were stuffed with octopus in the center and topped with mayonnaise and a soy sauce based sweet sauce. But what Tadashi surprised her with was even better.

"I have something for you." He pulled small a box from his jacket pocket and placed it on the table in front of her. "Open it." He waved to the box and gave an eager expression.

She raised her eyebrows, a little shocked that she was getting a present but also secretly very happy and trying her best to not freak out. Honey lifted the lid of the box off and inside was a beautiful golden chained bracelet with five little charms on it that read out 'PROM?' She put a hand to her mouth and covered her tremendous smile.

"So?" He shifted nervously in his seat, most likely worried about the quality of his proposal.

"Aw Tadashi of course!" She had to stand up and go around the table to give him a hug because she was just so ecstatic. "This is so cute, I love it!"

"Good, i'm glad. That means we have one more stop to make tonight."

They finished their meal, paid the bill, and went on their merry way getting back in the car to go somewhere else.

"Wait, what are we doing? This is Gogo's house." After ten minutes of driving, they pulled into the driveway of her best friends house and Honey was more confused than ever.

"Not what are we doing, what are _you_ doing." He unlocked the car. "Have a good night, I will see you tomorrow!"

"Uhm, I still really don't know what's happening?"

"Come on girl." Gogo interjected, opening Honey's door suddenly. "It's time to move onto the next thing. Thanks for dropping her off, Tadashi, I got it from here." Honey slowly got out of the car, a perplexed look on her face.

"No problem Gogo, take good care of her for me! Only the best for my prom date!" He gave a wink and laughed as she closed the passenger door. He backed out of the driveway, heading back home to the cafe.

"_Please_ tell me what the hell is going on.." Honey whispered a little and Gogo let out a loud chuckle.

* * *

"Okay I'm coming out!" Honey called from inside a dressing room. It turned out that the plan all along was for Tadashi to ask Honey Lemon to prom and then Gogo would take her out dress shopping after. She had been on a marathon of trying on dresses of all styles, lengths, and colors. There were a whole lot of 'oh god no's' and a couple 'well maybe's' but after about an hour of dress shopping, Honey was slipping on a long, light yellow dress with a halter neckline. Personally she loved it, it was her favorite color and she felt as though it suited her very well. It was virtually skin tight, the top was lace over the fabric and it had beads and sequins sewn in, and at the neckline, it tied tight around her neck with a bow in the back. She felt beautiful, but ultimately Gogo was the judge.

"Okay come on out! I'm itching with anticipation."

She clicked the door unlocked and stepped out from the dressing room.

"Wait. _No way_…" Her friend stood up from her chair. "Do the full spin around." Honey obeyed her instructions. "Oh my god… Oh my _god!_ That's it! That's the one, it's perfect!" Gogo clapped her hands together in excitement.

Honey looked at herself in the mirror at the end of the hall of change rooms, she spun around again for herself to see and the dress twirled with her, curling at the ends and brushing her toes. She couldn't help but smile. Gogo was right; this was it, this was the one.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter of the day. I promise it gets more exciting from here there was just some normal boring teenage things that had to happen before it could get exciting haha. Anyway, please leave reviews to tell me what you think of the recent updates! I live for reading those things! Thank you and I'll see you tomorrow.**


	12. Happy Birthday

That night, after purchasing her prom dress, Honey Lemon had stayed over at Gogo's. They stayed up for hours sitting on that same couch in Gogo's basement where they had spent so many late nights. With the faux leather worn down soft and smooth, no longer having that same sticky friction of new leather, and the cushions that sloped down in the center from the years of their weight, keeping the shape of their bodies even when no one was sitting there. Honey had her spot on the left side of the couch and Gogo's on the right respectively. Her basement was as cozy as it was cold, a room of conflicting fronts, the walls were a warm tan color and were decorated with a few pictures of Gogo when she was a child, there was the homely couch and then a nice entertainment center with a flat screen TV and a gaming console. Specifically a Wii on which the gang had Mario Kart tournaments monthly. However, the room was also rather large and empty and it lacked any specific flooring, the room was unfinished and they hadn't gotten around to putting down carpet or hardwood so they opted for a rug under the sofa and left the rest as concrete. But other than that and the absence of good lighting, it was a pretty great place to watch movies and spill all your secrets. And spill they did, Gogo urging Honey Lemon to tell her every little detail.

"No way, you started choking on your takoyaki?!" Gogo laughed, referencing only one of the many times they almost got kicked out of the restaurant.

"Yeah, oh man, it was so embarrassing! One of the waiters came up to us for literally the third time and she was so rude, and I was trying to take her seriously but I just kept coughing and laughing at myself for coughing which made me cough more!" She was sitting on the couch holding her tummy from laughter as she told the story.

"That's so amazing, but now you have to tell me the juicy stuff! How did he propose for prom?"

Honey simply held out the golden bracelet that adorned her wrist, the charms jangled and swayed from the chain.

"Holy shit! Why is that the cutest thing ever?!"

Honey smiled and trembled with excitement before exclaiming a loud "I _know!_" and then clearing her throat and shrugging, trying to sound more casual. "I know."

"Hey don't try that girl, get excited this is _super_ cool! You don't need to play it off." She took Honeys hands and shook them around, letting out some of her own excitement. "Okay, now onto the next important thing which is arguably more important than that first important thing because your flippin' seventeenth birthday is coming up in like two weeks and I haven't heard a _word_ out of you about any plans and this worries me beyond compare."

"Shoot, I know, I'm so sorry I just haven't really thought about it. I've been so preoccupied with other things - Tadashi things - that I didn't even realize how soon it was."

"Well just tell me what you've got so far and we'll go from there!"

Honey Lemon didn't say anything.

"Girl." Gogo persisted but still no words came out of her mouth. "Are you being serious? You honestly have no ideas for what you're going to do?" Honey groaned and slipped her hands from her friends grip, bringing her face to her palms.

"I _know_. I'm the worst. _And _the science fair is that same weekend and I'm not finished that either!"

"Well you need to get your little butt into gear right now, come on brainstorm!" Gogo demanded half jokingly half not, and snapped her fingers in front of Honey's eyes as if she was zoned out as they spoke.

"Alright, _alright,_ let me think.."

* * *

"Okay easy now, set it down _gently_." A couple Fridays later, Honey helped guide her friends through her house to set down a long buffet table in the kitchen. Gogo and the rest of their friends arrived at her party hours earlier to help set up for her big bash, except it wasn't really going to be that huge. She invited some more people than she usually would have because her mom and dad urged her to try and be more social, but it still wasn't a crazy party. Nonetheless, everyone insisted they treat it like it was a celebration for the queen and decorated it to fit. There were bunches of balloons anchored on the floor by sparkly, little weights in almost every corner of the house and also tied to the porch railings outside. The color theme of her party was yellow, pink, and white which was only her favorite color combination ever. So the balloons were paired with similarly color coded paper plates and cups and banners hung from the ceiling in many different spots that read, 'Happy Birthday Aiko!' It was coming together really nicely! Her mother even rented a chocolate fountain as a special treat along with many other wonderful homemade foods prepared by her mom.

"Make way, hot dish coming through!" Her mom walked over to the table holding a crockpot in between her oven mitt hands.

"Ooh Mrs. Miyazaki that smells delicious!" Wasabi swooned over with his nose in the air, trying to get a whiff of her mom's creation.

"Oh it's nothing really, just some ochazuke I whipped up real quick." Her mom shrugged before wiping the sweat that was beading at her forehead with the cuff of her sleeve.

"Uh can you translate what that means.. Exactly?" Fred shied into the conversation with acute curiosity, sounding a little ashamed that he didn't know the names of the common Japanese dishes.

"It's a simple soup dish, sticky rice with green tea poured over it and there's salmon in it too. It sounds a little peculiar but I swear it's good!" Honey smiled, proud of her constantly expanding knowledge of Japanese culture. Her family's heritage was Japanese so she always tried her best to keep her mind sharp on all things to know about the culture - especially the food! "We also have yakitori which is basically just grilled chicken, and some maki sushi. Oh, and of course basic things like pizza, chips, and donuts for the less adventurous - the pastries actually came from the Lucky Cat Cafe so obviously they're going to be _amazing!_" She loved Aunt Cass's pastries and she loved them even more simply because they were Aunt Cass's.

"Ooh donuts from the cafe? I can hop on that bandwagon!" Fred waltzed on over to the table where the box was sitting closed.

"Ah-ah, hey!" Honey slapped his hand away. "Not until some of the guests get here!"

Fred groaned and looked at the clock, it read 5:55pm and her party started at 6:00pm. "Come on Honey Lemon, it's basically six!"

"Which means, guests will be arriving any minute now; so you can wait!" She chimed skipping over to the front door.

Fred scoffed as she skipped away and started to reach for the box anyway, assuming she would be oblivious to the fact that he took one as long as she didn't see it.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" She called to him in that same sing-song voice, peeking around the corner of the entrance to the dining room.

"Oh _come on!_" he huffed and everyone laughed at him. Honey Lemon was starting to feel more calm now that she was laughing with her friends, it made all the pressure of hosting a party seem to float away. Until, that is, the sound of her doorbell cut sharp through their laughter, and all the worry that had slowly been evaporating away came back in a full flood. Her expression on her face plainly shifted from a cool, calm, happy smile to a horrified look with a gaping mouth.

"Oh my gallium! People are here!" She jumped and ran to the mirror in the front entrance of her home, brushing her hair down with her hands dozens of times. "What do I do? Do I look okay? Are all the decorations up, oh god!"

"_Woah _there kiddo," Her dad, a tall, pale man with dark hair approached her, his reflection walking up behind her in the mirror. He patted her back while he spoke. "You've worked really hard on your party, you look great, this is your day okay? People are here to celebrate you so just enjoy it."

She turned to face him and smiled, her green eyes matching his own. That and their height were the visible qualities they shared, but beyond that, they were the same at heart. Her dad understood how hard it was for her to put herself out there and he was always there for her when she needed a little motivational shove. "Now go on and open the door for those poor people who have been standing out there for way too long now."

She laughed at what he said then took a deep breath, the doorbell chimed again before she got to it. "Hi! Sorry that took so long, come on in!"

"Oh don't worry about it! Happy Birthday, Aiko!" The very beautiful Rapunzel Corona walked in with her boyfriend Flynn Ryder following behind her holding a large decorative bag. Rapunzel was a senior at SanFransokyo High School and was _way_ too popular to even be at this party, but Honey's mom and her mom were friends and so she was invited anyway. Honey Lemon's mom actually invited quite a few people without her own permission actually. "Where do the gifts go?" The blonde gestured to the large bag that her boyfriend was holding.

"Uhm, you're actually the first one here but we can start putting them over there, follow me!" She guided the two to her living room where music was playing off of the TV. Rapunzel started the pile of presents in the corner next to the TV and that's when her friends brought their gifts out and added to the pile. "You guys!" She sighed happily and hugged the closest one of them to her, which just so happened to be Fred.

"So can I have a donut now?" He asked inquisitively and she glared up at him, thinking for a long minute.

"Yeah, I guess-"

"Yes!" He pried himself free of her embrace and ran to the dining table where all the food was laid out.

"Uh, if you guys want any food it's all on the dining room table next to the kitchen" She nodded and would've continued with conversation but the doorbell rang. "Sorry, I have to get this"

"_Hey!_" A very smiley Aunt Cass sang in a cheery voice once the door was open and immediately pulled Honey Lemon into a hug with her free hand.

"Aw, hi Aunt Cass! Thank you for coming, and with more donuts of course!"

"I just thought you can never have too many!" She chuckled as she tucked some of her hair behind her ear, then nudged Hiro who was standing next to her not nearly as amused as she was.

"Happy Birthday Aiko," He spoke quietly but followed up more passionately with, "I don't get why I have to be here and Tadashi doesn't."

"Hiro, please." Cass chastised him and Honey shook her head.

"No it's alright, this party probably isn't going to be that great anyway." Honey shrugged her voice sounding a little sarcastic. "Although, we do have a chocolate fountain _and_ battle of the DeathLord part two which I heard somewhere was the sequel to your _favorite game_ but, if you're not interested in the party of course, I'm sure Aunt Cass wouldn't mind driving you back home to be with Tadashi-"

"No way, you have BDL part two?! Can I play!"

"Upstairs, first door on your right." She smiled and fluffed up the hair on the top of his head even though it was already always a mess.

"Thanks, Aiko, you're the coolest!" He gave her a hug then shoved a small box in Cass's hands before running upstairs. "Here Aunt Cass."

"Are you sure you want him running around in your house and messing with your things?" Cass laughed.

"Oh sure, I mean, he's a super genius, what harm can he do?" With that they both chuckled and smiled at each other, then Honey's gaze wavered from Aunt Cass to just behind her. She was looking, and they both knew exactly who she was looking for. Her grin faded from her lips as she sighed. "So he's really not coming?"

"I'm sorry. If it helps at all, he said it was because he had something he needed to do first so maybe he'll come by later?" Cass offered a sad, half-hearted smile and a comforting rub on the shoulder.

"Yeah, maybe.. My mom is in the kitchen, if you want to join her." Honey closed the door behind her as Cass walked in.

There was a steady flow of people coming into her house until about 6:45pm. She had never seen so many people in her home, and all crammed into the first floor nonetheless. She heard one person say there must've been thirty people there but the number never stayed the same long enough for her to count. Some guests weren't even ones that were invited, she didn't even know them they just came in for food and then left. Most were distant friends and acquaintances of hers though and it boosted her confidence seeing how many people she called friends, even if they weren't close ones.

Familiar faces included Max who hadn't spent much time with the gang in the past little while but still made a point to be present at her party. They hadn't seen him in a long time because he had gone away to a medical internship camp that lasted almost all of winter break, he got to practice many different medical procedures and even shadow in on a surgery. Whereas the rest of the time after break, everyone including himself had been pretty busy and aside from New Years Eve, and of course the lunch table, not even the rest of the group had been together much. So Honey's Birthday party was seen as a very pleasant reunion.

Another person she recognized was Jack Frost. He was pretty hard to miss though, despite being the boy who preferred to keep a low profile, everyone knew who he was. He fell into Rapunzels category of people and was probably only here at all because of her. She had never held a conversation with him, he was the jokester, sit at the back of the class and not pay attention, too cool for school type and honestly he was hardly ever there. However, Honey Lemon had heard that, despite all that, he was a very good person at heart who really only wanted to have fun. She could tell this was true as she watched him sit with his friends, driving the conversation and bringing everyone laughter. Honey smiled to herself as he balanced on the arm of her sofa then jumped down and sat on the lap of a short haired girl who had colorful tufts sprouting out of her brown locks.

Toothiana was a good friend of Honey's they were very much alike in that they were extremely outgoing until they were put out of their comfort zone, they had a nerdy streak in them and obsessive mindsets. The difference was, Toothiana was obsessed with teeth. She dreamed to be a dentist and admired those who had outstanding dental hygiene such as herself. That was actually how her and Honey became friends, once Honey Lemon got her braces off at the end of freshman year, Tooth never let it go that her teeth were flawless, of course she was flattered. They grew apart once Tooth developed a small crush on Jack and his snow white teeth but Honey wasn't upset about it. Seeing her now, Jack sitting on her lap tapping his index finger on her nose, watching the blood drain from her face and rush to her cheeks, hearing him snicker playfully, Honey knew that they were meant to be and it was okay if she lost a friend for them to get there.

There were plenty of other faces at the party, old and new, but she hardly had anytime to meet and greet, it was like the party flashed before her eyes and soon the twenty or so remaining guests who were actually meant to be there, were prompting her to open her presents. Honey was surprised at the turn out, a sizable mound of gifts were stacked in the corner of her living room. She sat in a cushioned chair and started to make an advance on opening all the presents. Most were just common all purpose gifts like gift-cards to coffee shops and clothing stores, she received lots of nail polishes and candles and tea but some people gave more original presents. Like Rapunzel, for example, who gave her an absolutely gorgeous pair of new pumps. They were white, and chunky with gladiator style straps and Honey absolutely adored them. "Oh my _god,_ Punzie, these are _stunning_!"

"Oh they're just Valentino's." She smirked feeling proud of her awesome gift giving.

"No way that must've been so much money! Thank you so much!" She got up and gave the blonde a hug for her fantastic gift, having no other way to even attempt to repay her.

"It's no biggie." She hugged Honey back and laughed a little.

Finally, she opened the presents from her friends. Fred, Wasabi, and Max all chipped in to buy Honey Lemon and Gogo a spa day which was such an incredible gift from them. And Gogo gave her another gift-card and a giant scrapbook filled with memories of the two of them and all of their friends since they met. Honey flipped through it briefly and was already almost brought to tears. "Thank you so much Gogo, this means the world to me!"

"Yeah whatever, it's really not that big of a deal-"

Honey cut her friend off with a great big hug. "Shut up and accept my thanks, dork."

"You're welcome, dork."

After presents the party started to come to an end around 8:30 as guests began to say their goodbyes. Soon after gifts, Aunt Cass approached Honey as they were on their way out, and gave the small box that Hiro had put in her hands earlier.

"He would've been embarrassed if you opened it in front of all those people."

She looked down at the petite box that was cleanly wrapped in a brown paper bag material. She thanked Cass and said her goodbyes to her and Hiro, then went and sat down to open it alone. Inside was a picture of her and Hiro and Mochi sitting at the colorful, granite kitchen counter of their home with flour all over their faces. They were wearing Christmas onsies and the smiles they had were almost as bright as the lights shining in the background. Tadashi had taken it on the day they tried to bake Aunt Cass some homemade Christmas cookies. They were all laughing at the mess they had made, and she recalled that they even ended up burning most of the cookies. On the back of the picture was a note written in sharpie and Hiro's messy handwriting.

It read, "Happy Birthday Aiko, I know I can be annoying sometimes because I'm me and all but I just wanted to say thank you for putting up with me and being my friend even when the rest of my family wasn't. You always really help to cheer me up and you make my family happy and that's all I could really ask for. I really hope Tadashi keeps you around because I wouldn't know what to do without you. You're one of my best friends and the coolest girl I know, next to Aunt Cass of course who is sitting next to me watching me write this so I kind of need to include her. I love you, thank you for everything! - Hiro."

Honey Lemon couldn't help but smile so brightly, she really did love Hiro like he was her little brother and she was glad he could say the same. All she wanted was to be a part of the Hamada family and each and every day they made her feel more and more like she was.

Once the rest of the people had left and she said goodbyes and thank you for coming, she took the photo upstairs to her bedroom and framed it, propping it up on her nightstand so she could always look at it. As she was walking back down the stairs to go help her parents clean up, her phone chimed. She opened it as she got into the kitchen and was surprised at what she read, her eyebrows raised up and clearly her mom caught onto her shock because she questioned her.

"Who's that?"

"It… It's Tadashi." Honey spoke quietly.

"Well what did he say?"

"He asked me to meet him somewhere."

"Go." Her mom tapped her leg with the bristled end of the broom she was sweeping with.

"What?" Honey looked up from her phone in slight disbelief.

"Go, be with him! It's your birthday, your dad and I have it covered here."

"Are you sure? Because I don't have to, I mean there's so much to-"

"Aiko, _sweetheart_, go be a teenager while you have the chance." They exchanged a short smile then Honey Lemon hugged her mother and gave her a kiss goodnight. "I'll text you later, I promise!" She grabbed a thick sweater and her keys then ran out the door.


	13. I Promise

The text from Tadashi simply read "Meet me at home." which was only a more fancy way of saying, come over. As she drove to the cafe so many thoughts ran through her head, mostly she kept asking herself why he didn't come to her party. She had faith that whatever this is would hopefully make up for it but still. It was embarrassing to her that he never showed up, all her friends who knew about them were probably judging their relationship, wondering what kind of shitty boyfriend wouldn't come to their girlfriends birthday party. As for her parents, it certainly wasn't a good impression. Her mom was understanding but her dad was less forgiving. She just wished Tadashi would think a little more before he went and hid like this but she assumed she could clear up this whole situation when she got to his house. Once she parked, her stomach flipped upside down; suddenly she was nervous. What if he had something that he needed to say - something he had to say alone - what if he didn't go to her party because he didn't want to be with her and he was going to breakup with her? She refused to leave her car for about eight minutes as the worried thoughts clouded her mind. Soon, though, she took a deep breath and told herself that she needed to go in there and face her fears.

The door to the cafe was open despite the open sign being turned to closed and all the lights being off. She made her way towards the stairs when she noticed a stray rose petal on the first step. Then she noticed that it wasn't stray at all as there was another one a couple steps up, and then two more. When she reached the top of the stairs the rose petal trail was more dense.

"Hello?" She called but to her surprise, no one else was home. she followed the path to Tadashi's bedroom door. At this point, her heart was beating rapidly and she even felt a little shaky. A shy grin was on her lips but she still had no clue what to expect. She lifted a shaking hand to the door handle and pushed the door open.

"Tadashi?" She called quietly though she wasn't sure why her voice was so hushed. There was no sign of him. The trail continued through his room, this time with a couple candles next to it. Her gaze followed the path to a ladder that led up to an opened moon roof, apparently both Tadashi and Hiro had rooftop access. As she climbed the ladder her heart wouldn't quit it's swift pitter-patter. Honey reached the top and into her view came a very handsome Tadashi sitting on a blanket, rose petals scattered around him, candles lit, and a beautiful picnic set on the blanket with him. It was the same blanket that they had gone stargazing with on their fancy date.

"Glad you could make it." He stood up from where he was seated and walked over to her, taking her hand and helping her up on the roof.

"What's all this?" She asked, her tone sounding slightly suspicious, a smirk dancing on her lips.

"Happy Birthday, Aiko." He enveloped her in a warm hug, winding his arms around her waist and nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck. Honey sighed in relief, not minding that he used her first name this time because when he said it, it sounded so sweet. His voice comforted her.

"Thank you."

"Here, let me show you what's on the menu." He took her by the hand and led her to the blanket where the picnic was set up, the candles flames twirled in the calm night air.

"Woah, stunning presentation." She winked at him as she sat down and studied the snacks he had laid out. "I see you went with the chocolate covered strawberries, those are always a good choice."

"I'm glad you appreciate my picnic expertise." He chuckled. "Oh! Okay, so, tell me what I missed, how was your party? Sorry I didn't stop by at all, I wanted this to be a big surprise and whatnot."

"Well it was a little less fun due to your absence…" She sighed, acting over-dramatically sad. Tadashi picked up one of the chocolate strawberries and guided it to her mouth, she took a bite. "But I think I can find it in me to forgive you." She laughed as she chewed the fruit.

"So give me some details! How many people were there? What presents did you get?"

Honey rambled on about her party and Tadashi interjected often to say things like, "Really that many people showed up?" and he acted as though he couldn't believe all the gifts she received. She showed him her Valentino pumps that she got from Rapunzel, lifting her foot up in the air which was dressed in her new designer heels. "Those are intense!" He took her foot in his hands. "I really love them, I'm just glad that I'm that much taller than you, otherwise those would be intimidating." And then they laughed together and she went on.

"Oh! I almost forgot, your brother is actually the sweetest little guy ever."

"Are you kidding?"

"Hush up, he gave me such a thoughtful present I almost cried!" Tadashi continued to look like he didn't believe her. "He gave me a picture of me and him with the cutest note on the back about how much he loved me and how thankful he was."

"Aw man he beat me to it!" Tadashi joked then nodded. "That is thoughtful of him, I'm glad he's got a bit of gentleman buried in there somewhere."

"Speaking of Hiro," Honey added after a moment. "Where is he? And Aunt Cass too?"

"They're at my grandparents for the weekend. I asked to stay but they might not exactly know that you're here.."

"You lied to Aunt Cass?!" Honey put on the best shocked face she could fake even bringing her hand to her gaping mouth.

"Come on, don't give me that." He gave her a soft, playful push and smiled. "I didn't _lie_ to her, I just didn't mention you."

For hours they went on like that, joking together and eating the food Tadashi had prepared. The night was beautiful and as perfect as she could've ever hoped. The air was cool but her sweater kept her warm, and the view of the city was stunning as the neon lights lit up the night.

Honey Lemon bit the last strawberry from its green stem and set it down on the ceramic plate next to her. Tadashi's head now rested in her lap, his face looking up at the stars but mostly up at her. She ran her fingers through his soft, black hair, they had reached a lull in the conversation but she didn't mind at all; just sitting with him, even in silence, was enough for her. Besides, they had talked plenty long, until all the little tea light candles had burned out. Only small cups of melted wax remained. After a while though, Tadashi sat up.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" He reached in the pocket of his sweater and pulled out a small, silk box. "I have another present for you." He opened the dark blue box to reveal an utterly gorgeous silver ring. It was very simple but to her it meant the world with it's small, luminous diamond glinting in the moonlight. "It's uh- it's a promise ring."

Honey Lemon was speechless.

"If you don't like it I can exchange it for-"

"No, no… I'm sorry I'm just surprised - It's a good surprised! I just- I _really_ love it, Tadashi."

"Oh, good, that's good. Uh, here." He removed the ring from the box and slid it onto her right ring finger. She lifted her hand to eye level to study it, how it rested on her long, slim finger. She really did love it, it had to have been one of the best gifts she had ever received.

"Thank you so much." She threw herself into him, wrapping her arms so tight around him. "Thank you for giving me the perfect birthday." The words were soft when they left her lips, muffled by his sweater and the crook of his neck.

* * *

Honey Lemon helped clean up the picnic before she even thought about going home. They stood side by side washing dishes together.

"Thanks for staying to help clean up, even though you really shouldn't be cleaning on your birthday." He bumped her with his hip while continuing to scrub a ceramic, decorative plate with a sponge.

"Of course! It's really no big deal if it means more time with you." She grinned up at him, now that she had taken her pumps off, she was quite a bit beneath him and she enjoyed the rare occurrence of being shorter than someone. "Plus, my parents probably won't even wait up for me at this point, they like you so they aren't worried."

"Well I sure hope they like me, _that'd_ be awkward if they didn't." Their small talk warmed her heart, it never failed to surprise her how well they got along. It didn't matter about what, they could talk for hours on end and never feel awkward or forced; everything with them came naturally.

Too soon however, they managed to wash all the dishes and all the cleaning up that needed to be done, was complete. As Tadashi helped Honey down the ladder with the blanket she feared her time with him was coming too quickly to an end. Together they folded the plush blanket in the moonlit darkness of his room then she draped it over his queen sized bed with a sigh. For a moment, she just stared at the blanket, not wanting to dismiss the activity or look at him in fear that it would commence her leaving. She studied the small, scratchy fibers that poked out of it, it was made of wool that was dyed all sorts of rock tone colors; she would always love this blanket because of the memories it held. With another sigh, she felt his arms fall around her, he was standing behind her and she turned to face him in his embrace. She brought her arms up to drape them over his shoulders and around his neck. Looking up at him, the moon lighting him from behind, the soft blue glow around his face, his earthy brown eyes gazing down at her softer than ever before; she knew. She shook her head slightly.

"Tadashi, I don't want to leave." Her words were almost inaudible, afraid he might reject her request. Instead, he gave a soft smile.

"Then don't." He bowed his head down, bringing his face to her height and his lips to her lips. When they met it was like absolute bliss. Their lips locked into place, as always, just like they were made for each other. He pulled away from her to look at her, his face seemed unsure which concerned her. She didn't say anything though, she just watched his expression as he studied her own. "Aiko.." He took a deep breath, closing his eyes as though he was mentally preparing himself for whatever he had to say, then opened them again. Her eyebrows drew up with worry but his gaze locked on hers and never wavered, he seemed very sure now. "Aiko Miyazaki, I love you." She watched his face cautiously, not entirely sure this was truly happening to her right now, but then he said it again. "I love you so much." It was the sweetest sound she had ever heard and she swooned at his words, his strong hands keeping her stable. She kissed him.

"I love you too." Her smiled was so big it almost muffled the words. He kissed her smiling lips again and again, slowly resting her down on his bed as he followed.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Tadashi brushed Honey Lemon's hair back from her face, running his fingers down along her jawline, she leaned into his touch. Her legs straddled his lap as they sat there on his bed in the moonlit darkness of his room

She took both his hands in her own and gave a small nod. "I have never been more sure."

Tadashi's lips brushed her own, not as innocent as before, there was a fiery passion this time. His fingers slowly made their way to the seam of her dress where they tucked under and pulled it up, over her head. Then she helped to remove his sweater. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, his fingers tracing shapes along her spine. She shivered at his touch, a tingling sensation following the trail of his motion. Her heart fluttered at the feeling of her body pressed against his, her hand gripping his warm chest. She felt his finger tips search for and unhook her bra strap, and as the covers were pulled up over her bare back, their lips meeting time and time again, she knew; she really did love him.


	14. Crash And Burn

The warm sunshine and cool breeze flowed into the room through the window, it warmed her face and brought a smile to her lips. She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the brightness then glanced around at her surroundings; this wasn't her room. Her soft smile turned into a cheeky grin as she remembered the events of last night. Honey Lemon curled her toes and they brushed along his legs, she looked up from where her head was resting on his bare chest to see the still sleeping face of Tadashi, looking peaceful as ever. Her fingertips ran along the chiseled muscles of his torso, her eyes watching it rise and fall with every rhythmic breath. She lay like that, watching him for a while then took a deep breath as she sat up in his bed. Now sitting with her feet hanging off the edge, she stretched her arms up in the air, letting out a big yawn. The long, over sized sleeves of Tadashi's shirt fell to her elbows when she raised her arms, and fell back down past her fingertips when she lowered them. She carefully re-covered Tadashi with the blankets then made her way out of his bedroom.

At the end of the hall she entered the bathroom and flicked on the light, she smiled at herself in the mirror. Her long hair was a mess and her well slept in makeup was smudged on her eyelids. The sight that made her happiest though, was the only article of clothing she was wearing; Tadashi's shirt. Well, that and her panties. She put her messy mop of hair up in a high ponytail and then twisted on the faucet. The water was freezing cold on her face but it helped to wake her up, she found a facecloth in the cabinet under the sink and used that to wipe her makeup away. After she washed her face she made her way to the kitchen. The sound of her stomach growling seemed to echo through the silence of the apartment and she rubbed her tummy before opening the fridge.

_Ting-ting crack! _On the metal bowl, the egg cracked and she broke it open, the yolk falling into the mixture of pancake batter. She mixed it all together one last time before scooping some up with a spoon and pouring it onto the sizzling pan. Honey Lemon hoped she could turn their perfect night into a perfect morning after by having a nice breakfast ready when he woke up. Just as she was finishing up the last pancake, a sleepy Tadashi sauntered out of his room, rubbing his eyes.

"Something smells good, you aren't setting my kitchen on fire are you?" He smiled a drowsy smile, walking over to her.

"Isn't it a little early to be giving me a hard time?" Honey Lemon squealed a little as he folded his arms around her and lifted her off the ground with a tight squeeze.

"It's never too early for that, watcha makin'?"

"Pancakes. Although if I really wanted to set us on fire, I'd make bacon. Lucky you, I prefer when you're not charred." She winked, feeling rather proud that she had made anything at all. As well as being proud of her joke.

"Well, thank you. For making pancakes and for not making bacon." Tadashi kissed her good morning and the moment they touched, the feelings of last night came flooding back. She rocked on her heels as her heart danced at the feeling.

"Yeah, it's no problem." Her words were breathy, their faces still close. After a moment she cleared her throat, trying to get out of the haze of lust that was clouding her mind. Now she spoke clearly, "Uhm, I was thinking that today we could finish our project, since we changed it, and the science fair is tonight and all."

"Oh - uh - yeah, for sure. There's not much left for us to do, just maybe test run it a couple times and all that other housekeeping stuff, so that should be easy." He nodded stepping away from her sort of awkwardly. He moved to grab plates from the cabinet for their pancakes.

* * *

After an hour or two of building and eating pancakes in Tadashi's garage, mostly him building and her eating pancakes, they finally finished their project.

"Up top!" He raised his hand for a high five and she left him hanging, opting to hug him instead due to not being able to contain her excitement. After so many hours of working on this she was finally confident that they had an _amazing_ entry for the science fair. It was a small contraption in a sort of trapezoidal shape, on one side was a keypad where, after typing in a certain combination of numbers, it activated a chemical reaction inside. Inside was where all the magic happened. A small silicon ball was infused with several different chemicals, depending on the reaction, and then ejected out the other side. From there, the ball was thrown at a solid surface where it would burst on impact and release a certain matter. Ice, goo, air, etc. She thought it was a pretty impressive contraption, but the competition at SFHS was stiff so they couldn't get too ahead of themselves.

After their short lived celebration Honey was racing around Tadashi's house trying to get ready as fast as possible - doing her hair, putting on suitable clothes, and makeup - then she was zooming off to the school. The fair didn't start until six but she promised Mr. Krei that she would help set up for the event by moving tables and chairs and setting up speakers and so on. She arrived at about 3:15 pulling into the closest parking spot she could find. Even though it was three hours early, there were tens of people there already, all trying to help ensure the whole night went smoothly.

It took a lot of time, sweat, and hard work but the place was starting to come together real nicely. The entire gymnasium was filled with rows of tables and banners that welcomed people to the fair adorning several support beams along the ceiling, including one over the main entrance doors to the gym from the outside, the sign was very large and read "Welcome to the SFHS Science Fair!" It was visible from the parking lot. Soon, contestants started crowding in with their contraptions and experiments, Tadashi met her at one of the larger tables and hung their poster up on the divider between the table behind theirs.

"This place is looking pretty great, how long you been at it?" He chuckled, noticing the sweat beading on her forehead and the stressed and tense atmosphere around her.

"Oh ya know, only three hours! I just really need ours to win." She nodded wiping away the sweat with her wrist.

"Well don't worry, our entry is incredible thanks to you. I'd like to see them _try_ not to give you the win." He patted the small of her back reassuringly. "But even so, if we don't win, there's still a chance we can get chosen for the scholarships."

She nodded, feeling more at ease now that Tadashi was here with his supportive words. "Okay, you're right. I just need to relax, everything will be fine, tonight will be perfect no matter what."

"That's the spirit babe, now help me set this up." He gestured toward their chemical embrittlement chamber with a nod of his head.

"Yeah okay, for sure - wait did you just call me babe?" She raised a confused eyebrow, not really used to pet names other than her usual nickname, of course.

"Yeah, why? Is that a problem?"

"I don't know it's just a little weird, I'm not used to it is all." She shrugged stepping closer to him.

"Oh. Well you seemed to enjoy it last night." He said the words so matter-of-fact and just as a competitor walked by too. Honey Lemon could see the shocked look on their face as they hurriedly walked away and she gasped.

"_Tadashi!_" She smacked his arm hard, still appalled at what he had said; in public nonetheless.

He immediately started cackling, finding it obnoxiously funny. "Ow! Woah, woah - _hey._" He managed between laughs and put his arm around her, pulling her into him. "I'm just messing with you." She glared up at him and her smirked back. "Come on, we're a couple! We can joke about these things."

"Not in _public!_" She continued to scold him, clearly still embarrassed over him explicitly joking about their sex life.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, it won't happen again." He was still laughing but she expected him to keep his word.

"Good, I don't need you scaring off anymore innocent bystanders." She was serious but this only made him laugh more. Honey rolled her eyes before moving to finish organizing their table.

"Welcome," Mr. Krei's voice echoed through the gymnasium, booming from the microphone. "To the twenty-fourth, annual, SanFransokyo High School Science Fair!" The crowd of parents and science enthusiasts cheered and applauded at the commencement of the night. "Please feel free to look around at the many outstanding entries we have tonight, at the end of the night we will be announcing the winner of the first place prize of a ten thousand dollar scholarship!" The crowd cheered as it was dismissed and Mr. Krei stepped down from the stage, He guided the panel of judges through the different entries.

"Well look who we have here!" Honey jumped when she turned around to face her Chemistry teacher.

"Mr. Callaghan!" She replied carefully, an uncomfortable tone in her voice.

"Aiko, Tadashi." He nodded to the both of them, he sounded rather casual which was much different from the last time she interacted with him in public. Neither one of them said anything, she just smiled at him awkwardly. "_So_."

"So?" She gave a quiet laugh, the last thing she wanted to do was upset him again.

"Aren't you going to show me what you've got going on here?"

"Oh!" She cleared her throat, remembering the objective of the night. "Right, our bad, uhm so this is our invention, it has five different reactions and states of matter it can make so if you just take a look at our cheat sheet.." She slid a large piece of paper over to him with all the codes and their corresponding reactions written out in bright, colorful handwriting. "Then you pick one and you just type it in the keypad and you'll get a ball that comes out this end." She tapped the side of the box where the spheres were ejected and waited for her teacher to test it all out. Not to her shock, he chose the gooey slime reaction; she assumed that this would be a crowd favorite as it sounded the most exciting. Out the end came an iridescent, magenta ball. "Great! Now pick on of the several targets we have lined up and throw it." She nodded and her and Tadashi stepped out of the way to reveal the targets behind them.

Callaghan closed one eye and lined up the shot, he threw it full speed and the ball exploded off the target into a thick slime that very slowly stretched down off the edge of the surface but never broke as it was too thick and strong to move much.

"Wow!" He exclaimed, his expression seemed rather thrilled. "That's really incredible you two! I'll put in a good word about you to the judges." He nodded then pushed past the crowd of people as interested viewers took notice of what had just happened and wanted to take a turn themselves.

Honey Lemon and Tadashi smiled at each other.

"Okay, everyone can take a turn but we need you to make a line!" He called and showed the gesture of a line with the motion of his hands. The people quickly obeyed but struggled to stay in the line as everyone was stepping out to try and get a peek at the action.

"Hey you two! How are my little scientists?" Aunt Cass had somehow managed to get to the front of the line and skip a big chunk of it. "I am your aunt and I have seniority over all these people... So tell me how to work this!" She clapped her hands together excitedly as Tadashi explained this time; they took turns. Cass obeyed the instructions and chose the pink powder ball which was a nice change from the rainbow goo. It burst into a thick cloud of fluorescent dust that nearly engulfed Tadashi and Honey. Their once white lab coats already looked like they had been tie-dyed from all the other people though so half of their bodies being coated in rosy talc didn't really matter much. "That's so cool you guys! Oh i'm so proud of you!" She jumped around and ran to hug them but stopped when she noticed how coated they were in mess. "Maybe later." She nodded and patted their shoulders. "Oh, I love you two! Good luck!" She called as she walked away, heading to test out the other entries.

Their night continued on like that in a monotonous fun. The dozens of people that were dying to try it out slowly trickled away as the end of the line caught up. Their time of fame was coming to an end along with the night but they didn't mind because for a while, their invention had the spotlight. They just hoped that was enough to get the judges excited. Now they were approaching their stand and Honey's heart started to beat rapidly.

"Good Evening." The only woman in the group of four judges nodded when they had reached the stand.

"Good evening, Miss. We are entry number thirty four with our invention centered on the idea of Chemical Metal Embrittlement." Honey smiled, trying her best to sound cool and collected. The two of them walked the judges through their experiment, explaining the science behind it and even demonstrating the function of the machine using the ice sphere on one of the targets.

"And now it's your turn." Tadashi nodded and the judges took a moment to scribble things on their clipboards before each taking a turn to create a sphere. "There are four different kinds of reactions left so each of you will get to try out a unique one." They seemed rather thrilled and appreciative of this.

"Okay now line up and take your shot." Once again, the two of them backed away to make room and all the judges took turns throwing the ball at the target.

"Okay last one." Tadashi signaled the man who hadn't thrown his sphere yet and just as he pulled his arm back to let it fly, he was interrupted. A loud boom erupted through the gymnasium, silencing everyone inside and stopped every person dead in their tracks.

"What was that?" Honey questioned, hesitation in her voice, not too sure that she wanted to know.

"I'm not really sure-" Just as Tadashi finished his sentence, a second one went off, It was an explosion coming from the other side of the gym. The screams of students and parents echoed through from the other side of the room as flames crawled up and out from where the explosion had been.

"Is that.. _Fire?!_" Honey felt her heart sink to her gut as an absolute sense of dread flooded through her body, shredding apart her previously happy disposition. The fire spread so quickly that, by the time the alarms started crying and the sprinklers started raining down, it was too big to be extinguished. In fact, it seemed to only fuel the flames, another explosion popping and crackling in the corner of the building.

"Honey Lemon, _come on!" _Tadashi declared, gripping her arm tight and yanking her from where she was standing. The entire gym burst into absolute chaos, people crying out to their kids and others, horrified shrieks sounded like they were all around her and there was no flow of traffic, everyone was racing in every direction. The fire had crawled along the walls to wrap around to the other side now and was slowly engulfing the whole building.

"Tadashi, I don't know where the exit is!" She cried, feeling so hopeless as they aimlessly ran through the rows of tables. "What about Gogo, and Wasabi and _everyone!_" All of their friends were there too, each had their own entry in the fair - except Fred who was simply coming for moral support - but now they were all a part of this mess and Honey had no clue where they were. She only hoped they already made it out.

The building was overheating quickly and she was sweating bricks, her skin felt almost as itchy as her eyes that were trying to blink through the smoke.

"Tadashi!"

"Aiko, _please_, I'm trying!" He hissed, she knew he wasn't actually mad at her it was just the circumstances, but the way he yelled at her along with all the horror she was already feeling, it just crushed her. She started to sob as he pulled her along, too overwhelmed with the situation. The only other sound she could hear besides crackling flames and terrified screams was Tadashi's coughing. She gasped between her tears saying over and over again in her mind that she prayed they made it out.

"Hey! Over here!" A voice called to them and Tadashi exclaimed.

"There it is!" He tugged on her harder now, dragging her to the exit.

When her scorching hot skin met the cold front of the night, it was the nicest stinging she had every felt. "Oh my god." She muttered at a loss for words.

"Oh thank god, we made it - oh." Tadashi clearly shared her speechlessness as he mumbled on and on. "Oh you're okay, you're okay." He hugged her tighter than he ever had before, she could feel the muscles in his arms quiver as they rested around her and she could hear his heart racing at light speed. She just cried into his arms for a moment before catching her breath.

"What about everyone else?"

"Tadashi! Aiko!" A distressed Aunt Cass rushed over to the two of them, the rest of their friends chasing behind her. Cass immediately fell into Tadashi, wrapping her arms around him.

"Honey Lemon, oh my god!" Gogo led the group of Fred, Wasabi, Hiro, and Max over to her, Wasabi was the one to give her a hug and pick her up off the ground.

"We were _so_ worried about you two!" Wasabi whispered into their hug.

"We were worried about you guys too! How did you get out?" She was happy they were all safe but confused as to how they all looked clean and well like nothing had happened.

"We were all on the other side of the gym where the fire started, saw it coming miles away and ran out after the first explosion. It was _wild!_" Fred explained their escape and Honey was relieved that they were so lucky.

"Well thank god for that."

"Yeah, it was awful though, some kids experiment caused it. I don't know too much about the circumstances but they were just too close to the electrical wires." Gogo explained.

"That's so terrible." Honey shook her head, sad that this was how the night turned out. She took turns giving everyone a hug and Tadashi joined their group as well, talking with everyone. Max was going around to people who made it out, trying to assist any injured ones that he could until the paramedics got there.

Honey was starting to feel better after she caught her breath but the moment was cut short when a brown haired girl who was no older than them came stumbling out of the building and down the stairs. She collapsed at the bottom, coughing intensely and crying too.

"Help! Someone, _help!_" She pleaded in a raspy scream. Her arms were welted and her clothes were singed in some areas; she had been burned.

"Oh my god, Max!" Honey Lemon called as her and Tadashi raced to the girl, their albino friend following behind.

"What happened? Are you alright? Where are you hurt?" Max pushed through the two of them to the girl on the ground, helping her to sit up.

"Not me are you crazy! It's my dad! My dad is in there still!" Her voice was so desperate and as she sat up, her pleading eyes gaze into Honey's, she suddenly recognized her.

"Who is your dad?" Tadashi questioned but she didn't need to answer.

"Mr. Callaghan." Honey whispered. "You're Abigail."

"Yes! God, that doesn't matter! Please someone help him!" The girl continued to cry and Tadashi looked to the building.

"I'll get your dad out of there." He nodded and stood up from the ground.

"Wait!" Honey protested, grabbing his arm and jerking him back before he stepped onto the first step.

"Aiko, let go!"

"No, I can't let you do this, this is _stupid!_ Just wait until the firefighters get here!"

"That'll be too late." He argued.

"_Please_ don't do this!" He continued to ignore her pleading.

"Callaghan's in there. Someone has to help." When the words left his lips he ripped his arm free of her weak grasp and dashed up the stairs.

"_No!"_ Wasabi ran up behind and grabbed the shrieking Honey Lemon, holding her back and preventing her from moving forward. All she could do was watch Tadashi run into the burning building. He disappeared from her sight which only made her panic more, she writhed in Wasabi's grasp. "Put me down!"

"Aiko, I can't -"

"Let me _go!_" She elbowed him in the gut, cutting him off and freeing herself from his grasp. Once she was free she started up the stairs but was cut short by another explosion. This one was bigger and knocked her down off her feet, throwing her off the stairs. She landed on her back and the wind was knocked out of her. Her vision cut off for a moment then slowly came back, blurry without her glasses. There was an incessant ringing in her ears and it took her a moment to realize what happened. When her eyes focused on the burning gymnasium her heart felt like it had been crushed into a million pieces.

"_**Tadashi!**_" She let out the most blood curdling shriek as the realization set it, the sound of sirens whining in the distance as help came all too late.

* * *

**sorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorry**


	15. Forget Me Not

Honey Lemon glanced around the room for the hundredth time. It was as tidy as it could be, not one thing out of place. The walls were glass with privacy curtains pulled shut and the pattern on the curtains matched the chairs. She shifted in the one she was sitting in, they weren't very comfortable. On the nightstand next to his table were two bouquets of flowers, one that she bought, and one that his grandparents bought. There were also four separate balloons all saying 'get well soon.' decorated with little pictures of teddy bears and flowers. All of them were purchased by her from the gift shop on the first floor. Whenever she couldn't sleep or when her thoughts started to get to her, she would go for a walk through the hospital halls which usually led her to the gift shop. Binge shopping helped calm her down. She was calm now, sitting in the chair next to his bed.

It had been a whole week since the fire at the school and he still hadn't woken up. At this point, just watching his sleeping face was soothing. It gave her an eerie sense of dread deep down inside, but if she just looked at it like he was taking a nap, it was rather peaceful. She studied his face, a large bandage stretched from his forehead to his left ear then all the way under his jaw. It framed his face, covering the bulk of the burns. The rest of the welts and burns were on his arms and legs. Nothing too serious, the doctors said it shouldn't leave scarring on his face either, his hair on the top of his head would covered the worst of it. The only other wound was a gash on his back from a fallen support beam that he had been thrown into when the explosion happened, that same support beam also saved his life - coincidentally - as he had fallen under it and another piece of ceiling after he was knocked unconscious. That cut would scar but luckily it wasn't infected and they were able to stitch it up nicely. They said that they wouldn't know if he suffered any memory loss until he woke up. They had run X-rays on his brain and from what they saw it looked okay - there wasn't any internal bleeding - but they couldn't be sure yet. However this was all in account that he would wake up at all, she didn't like thinking about the other possibility but it was still a chance and after a week of him still in what should've been a temporary coma, the odds weren't looking too great. The nurse's already informed them to prepare for the worst.

Honey Lemon wouldn't give up though, she spent every night by his bedside with Aunt Cass and Hiro. Tonight, however, she was alone. Hiro had been sleeping very poorly in the seats, not getting more than an hour or two of shut eye, and he desperately needed a good night's rest. Cass apologized for leaving Honey on her own but explained that she couldn't refuse letting Hiro get some sleep. Honey understood, she could see how the stress and exhaustion was taking a toll on the both of them, their eyes looked sunken in and had puffy, dark circles underneath which was no way for a fourteen year old boy to look. Honey wasn't any different from them, she had dark circles and she was losing her hair but she refused to go home to sleep in her own bed. She would leave in the morning for school, drive back to the hospital at lunch, go back to school, then go home to get a change of clothes and then back to the hospital for the night. She tried to spend as much time there as she could, deciding that she needed to be there when he woke up. And he would wake up, she just knew.

That night she knelt beside his bed and prayed. It wasn't an action she performed often but she was desperate, and if reaching out to a God above meant helping Tadashi wake up, then she believed in all of it. Tadashi couldn't die, not just because he was too young and too brilliant to lose his life right now, but also because everyone else would be so hurt by it. Cass and Hiro already lost his parents, losing him too would just crush them. Hiro was feeling so helpless right now without his older brother to talk to and seeing him in his eternal sleep only hurt Hiro more. And Honey Lemon, god Honey wouldn't make it without Tadashi, just when everything had been going so perfectly, just when it seemed like she had everything figured out, life went and screwed it all up for her; for the both of them.

"Tadashi." She whispered to him after she finished her prayer. "Tadashi, I know you're not going to die. You're not going to die because if you do you will never get to understand how much I love you. Dieing is literally the most selfish thing you could ever do, you know that right? You can't put Hiro through that; he _needs_ you. You can't put Cass through that; she's already dealing with so much. And what about me? _I_ need you." Tears started to fall from her eyes, salty streams burning her cheeks. "I finally have you now all to myself, I just got you so you can't leave because I'm not done with you. Our time together is far from over and you're crazy if you think you can get away with a stunt like this." She leaned closer to him now, holding his arm in her cool grasp. "I need you to wake up, you hear me? Whatever fight you have inside of you, you need to use it now. You can't leave now because I would never forgive you if you-" Her voice cracked and cut her off. "If you left me… Please, _please_ come back."

Honey Lemon felt so heavy, she collapsed into his still body, no longer getting any warmth or comfort out of it. Her tears flowed endlessly from her tired eyes, her sobs muffled by the blanket that covered him. "I need you." She whispered. "I really, really need you. Please don't leave me." She let herself cry until she couldn't cry any longer.

The next morning she got ready as usual, in the public bathroom down the hall, then drove off to school. No one talked to her at school, everyone was afraid of the 'oh-so fragile Aiko' who couldn't be touched or she would fall into a billion shattered pieces. Her teachers never called on her, exempt her from any quizzes that the class may have been taking and excused almost all her homework assignments. It was ridiculous, and it wasn't helping. She felt like she was going to school for absolutely no reason, and the fact that she was treated like she was broken made her feel like she was truly broken that much more. She needed people to treat her normally but even her own friends - her own _best friends_ \- spoke like they were walking on thin ice.

At lunch, while she was poking around at her pasta salad with a plastic fork, they all watched her. They tried to cover up the fact but it was so stupidly obvious.

"Guys please stop this." She dropped her fork into the tupperware. "I'm so sick of people acting like I'm a pigeon with a broken wing." She looked up at them for the first time in days, her tired eyes red and glassy. "I'm not dying, I don't need to be nursed back to health…" everyone just looked at her, speechless. "My boyfriend is in a coma in the hospital and yeah he probably won't wake up and _yes_ it is killing me inside.. But the _last_ thing I need is all of this-this _pity!_ I love you guys, I know you just want to give me my time and space but what would really help me right now - what I really want from you - is to be treated like normal, like everything is okay. I need people in my life to make me laugh; or at least try to. Just, drop the whole dog-with-its-tail-tucked-between-its-legs thing, I'm so sick of it." She huffed and picked her fork back up, pushing the noodles around the plastic container again.

"Okay, if that's what you need from us then we will oblige." Max nodded his voice was very smooth and calm. She wouldn't say it, but she hated how he treated her like one of his patients. It wasn't very subtle, using his doctor voice and everything.

"Ugh, does anyone want the rest of this pasta salad, I can't eat right now."

"I'll take it!" Fred volunteered eagerly and she slid the container over to him. "Thanks Honey!"

"No prob." In this moment in time, Fred was her favorite. Even though that wasn't usually the case due to their extreme differences, she liked how he seemed absolutely careless of the whole situation. It probably actually was because he really didn't care but she didn't mind what the reason was, she just appreciated the fact that he was pretending like this horrible thing wasn't happening to her right now.

"So… uh, how'd you do on the vocab test in English, Honey?"

She scoffed "I didn't take it. Mr. Litvey assumed that I wouldn't have had the time to study so I shouldn't take it if I'm just going to fail."

"Did you have time? To study?" Wasabi asked, trying to keep her talking.

"No." She looked down and sighed. It frustrated her that everyone was right in assuming she was broken, that she couldn't do anything for herself right now.

"Oh, well, don't worry about it. I'm sure he'll let you retake the test-"

"I don't want to retake the test. Don't you guys get it!? I just want to do things normally so that I'm not constantly reminded of how helpless I am right now."

She shocked them again, they were quiet out of loss of words this time, not out of fear. She realized that she made them feel like everything they said was wrong and she immediately regretted that.

"Guys..-" She started her apology but was cut off by the ringing of her cell phone. "Hello?"

"Aiko! Oh my god, Aiko.. he woke up." Aunt Cass's shaking voice rung in her ears.

"R-really-?"

"Yes really! He's awake right now!"

"Oh my god, okay I'll be right there!"

"Okay but there's something-"

"You can explain when I get there! I'm leaving now!" She hung up on Cass mid sentence, running straight out the front doors of her school, down the stairs and to the parking lot. As she backed out of her parking spot she looked up at the gymnasium, It was in burnt, crumbling shambles with caution tape stretched all around it and the doors boarded up. She smiled at it anyway because her Tadashi beat it. He won the fight and it made her heart sing. The drive to the hospital was rather dangerous simply because she was speeding the whole way, but she didn't mind because she needed to get to the hospital. She needed to see him, hear his voice, and kiss him. She found the closest parking spot in the parking garage and ran to the elevator. It moved agonizingly slow and she tapped her foot the whole way, listening to it ding every time it passed a floor. The doors opened and she pushed through them the second she could fit between the cracks running down the hall to his room. The privacy curtains were open now and she could see Cass and Hiro talking with a now awake and well Tadashi, smiling and crying through this overwhelming time. The biggest smile spread from ear to ear and her heart fluttered at the thought of having his arms around her again.

"Oh Tadashi!" She squealed as she flung the door open and ran straight to him, throwing herself into him, pulling him into the biggest, strongest hug she could ever manage to give. The second she fell into him she started to cry, she couldn't cope with how happy and relieved she was. "God I'm so happy you're okay! I missed you so much, I was here _every night!_" She started to laugh along with her tears, never loosening her grip. After a moment though, she felt wrong. He hesitantly brought his hands to her back and patted it awkwardly.

"Uhm, thanks? I'm glad I'm okay too." He replied in an unfamiliar tone.

"Yeah…" She furrowed her brows.

"But uh, Aiko? I'm sorry but - why are you here?" She felt her heart stop, and her breathing halted with it. Concern washed over her whole face as she pulled herself away from the embrace.

"What are you talking about, silly?" She laughed, but it was obvious it was a forced laugh. She just hoped he was joking. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Should I be?"

Honey Lemon was speechless. Her gaze watched his own to see if he was serious.

"Aiko, I need you to step out into the hall with me." Cass prompted for her to leave the room.

Slowly, she removed herself from Tadashi and left the room, still clearly shocked. The door closed behind them and they were alone in the hall.

"Cass what's happening? I mean, this is a joke, right?"

"I'm so sorry Aiko…"

"No, stop." She began to tear up, her facing turning red.

"It's no one's fault.."

"Stop lying to me." Tears fell heavier now, no longer being able to suppress her brokenness. "I won't believe you unless you say it.

"Tadashi lost his memory. He only remembers so far back now, and what he remembers is that... you're just a friend. A very distant friend that he has chemistry with I'm-"

"No, no, no, oh god _no!_" Honey slammed her back against the wall and slid down it, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Aiko I'm so sorry, sweetie." A teary eyed Aunt Cass crouched in front of her and held her shoulders.

"This can't be true, this can't be real!" She hung her head between her knees, rocking herself.

"They said that these things can heal over time, it could take days-"

"Or months, or years." She finished for Cass.

"Yes, that's true but - he's alive, he's okay and we aren't planning on letting you go that easy, alright? I'm making dinner tonight and I want you to join us. It's his private little welcome home celebration. I'm sure he wouldn't mind." She nodded, soothingly rubbing Honey's arm.

"Okay." It was so quiet it was almost inaudible, but Honey agreed.

"Thank you. Oh, and I'm sorry but on doctors orders, we can't try and force him to remember things, we can't remind him of anything he may've forgotten because it's apparently too soon and it could cause trauma. I'm sorry, but eventually we can try telling him about the two of you just - not today, today you two are friends and that's what he really needs."

After she said this, she returned to the room and closed the door after her, leaving Honey in the hall. Once she was alone she couldn't stop herself, she just kept crying and crying with no end.

* * *

That night, as Aunt Cass had said, she was invited over for his welcome back dinner. Honey Lemon had never been more nervous and anxious for something in her whole life, she just wanted to get it over with. As horrible as that sounded, she just didn't know how long she could last being at his house and pretending she's only his friend. Honey was dressed nicely but still rather casual, actually wearing black leggings and a white sweater instead of a dress of any kind, and her long hair was pulled up into a high ponytail. She did this because it was rather unruly, probably needed to be washed, and hadn't been brushed in god know how long. She had been sporting a lot of ponytails lately.

She arrived at the cafe at around six and made her way inside and up the stairs. She knocked on the door that separated their apartment from the cafe - which she had honestly forgotten had even existed - and frowned. She never knocked. Honey's heart raced when she heard footsteps approach the door. She thought about making a run for it and never looking back, at this point it would probably be less painful, but Cass arrived at the door and opened it with a smile.

"Aiko! Come in, come in!" Cass walked back toward the dining table and gestured for Honey to follow, she closed the door behind her. "We're just sitting down to eat so you're right on time!"

Honey nodded, sitting in the seat next to Hiro and across from Tadashi.

Dinner was awkward to say the least, Honey didn't know what she couldn't and couldn't say and when she would make eye contact with Tadashi, his expression was blank. It sent shivers down her spine, there was no emotion in his eyes and no expression on his face; except maybe confusion. Honey tried multiple times to have a conversation with him but he continuously evaded her questions, following up with things like "yeah, can you pass the pepper?" or just giving her simple answers like a nod.

After a while of listening to Tadashi talk to Cass and Hiro, he finally said her name.

"Aiko?"

She looked up eagerly, desperate for any shred of his attention.

"Did you know my mother?" He sounded very shy. "Before she passed away, I mean."

Honey was speechless.

"I'm going to take that as a no?" Tadashi looked kind of weirded out, looking Honey up and down like she was crazy. At this point she didn't care though, she was furious.

"You told him about his mom?!" Honey glared at Aunt Cass.

"Aiko, please." She tried to stop her but Honey just shook her head.

"Don't 'please' me." Honey scoffed standing up from her chair. "You told him that his mom died but you didn't tell him about me?! How am I possible more dangerous and 'traumatic' than that?"

"Aiko, please just sit down."

"No, I'm sorry. I can't keep pretending that Tadashi doesn't mean the world to me. I'm not lucky enough to forget like he did." She took her promise ring and slammed it on the table in front of Tadashi. "Take this back, I can't look at it anymore."

She stormed out of the cafe, bursting into tears once she was out of their sight. She sat in her car and closed the door as she sat in the drivers chair. She tried breathing for a moment but in frustration she her fists on the wheel. After she got that anger out she threw her head back against the headrest and cried.


	16. Forever And Always

The next day at school was one of the most torturous things she had ever experienced. But even the days after that and the weeks after that the feeling stayed the same. Everyone watched Honey Lemon in the halls, watched her expression, watched her movement, and wondered; how was she feeling? No one truly cared about her, but _everyone_ cared about her drama. She had girls come up to her and say how sorry they were, how they couldn't believe what she was going through but, could she tell them again what happened just to refresh their memories. And guys came up to her saying they were there, helping the two of the escape from the fire and if Honey wanted to 'go get lunch sometime.' She never responded to any of those people who talked to her, catching up to her in the halls as though they were best friends. She couldn't believe how aggressively people fed off of the pain of others.

Her teachers were no better. Now that Tadashi was alive and 'well,' Honey was exempt from her exemption. She had scheduled several retakes that week for tests and her homework load felt heavier than ever.

Now she sat at her lunch table, Tadashi's absence weighed down on her heavily. The walk from her class to the lunch table was agonizing, she passed Tadashi who was sitting by himself like he used to, not sure of who his real friends were.

"Honey Lemon," Wasabi was always the one who was trying to open her back up.

"I'm fine if that's what you're going to ask." She muttered to Wasabi who was looking at her like she was ill and talking to her like she was five.

"Okay. I just didn't know if you wanted to talk."

"What is there to talk about?" She sighed, closing her eyes. "All the progress we made with getting through to him, all the hours we spent together… It's all gone now."

"It's not all gone." Max chimed. "We have our memories."

"All memories do is just make me sad, make me recall when things were so much better than they are now. Remembering is painful." She huffed, not buying what her friends were telling her.

"At least you have those."

"Yeah, at least." She sounded unamused but considered what they were saying. To some extent, she agreed with Max, she did value her memories. At night she always thought of when her and Tadashi were together, she focused on a different memory each night. They always made her smile but then she'd remember that those were all times of the past that wouldn't be coming back and then her heart would sting and her eyes would water. It was a vicious cycle.

Chemistry quickly became her least favorite class of all as she was forced to listen to an unharmed, perfectly fine Mr. Callaghan gush on and on about things she already knew. She blamed him. It wasn't his fault but she blamed him. He was the one who was 'stuck' in there, who, without Tadashi's help, would've 'died.' She pushed all of her anger onto him because Tadashi only went into the building to save his life - which clearly didn't need saving - but in reality she only blamed Callaghan to forget about how much she blamed herself. If she had just tried harder, stalled him just a couple seconds more… She tried so hard to hold back the tears that she started to choke on her sobs.

"Aiko are you alright?" Callaghan asked mid sentence when he heard her whimpering. Everyone in her chemistry class turned to look at her and that's when she let herself break down. They had already heard her crying, there was no point in trying to hide it. "Oh. You may excuse yourself." He nodded, trying not to bring too much attention to her, but it was too late. She shoved all her things into her bag then violently pushed passed Gogo and ran out the door. All the while, everyone stared at her; even Tadashi.

Honey didn't go to school the next day, or the day after, she actually just skipped the entire week. She stayed in her room and didn't come out, her mom had to bring her food to her because she wouldn't admit she was hungry. Most days she just lay in her bed, under all her covers and surrounded by pillows, watching TV on her laptop. She never really watched it though, and when she did, it was reruns of sad romance shows that just made her cry more. Most of the time, she would just stare at the wall across the room and think, her tired eyes felt heavy from crying. Her mother would come in and sit with her on her bed sometimes. She'd hold her hands and talk to her about her day but Honey would never respond. It got to the point where she was really worried about Honey and called her friends. They asked her please to come back to school, to not do this to herself because hiding was only going to make her feel worse. She agreed with them but never said it, she knew that keeping herself alone with her thoughts was doing nothing but hurting her more, but at least she didn't have to be seen in public while she was hurting.

The next week though, she got herself together long enough to attend school everyday again, however, she quit her job at the cafe and stopped spending time with her friends outside of school. She just didn't have enough energy to balance it all. Honey was drained, mentally, physically, and emotionally and couldn't be bothered to do more than just go to school; and that was hard enough.

Despite Honey wanting to be alone, her friends wouldn't let that happen, they would come visit her after school and once she started to open up to that idea more, they would take her out with them. She would protest for many reasons including that she looked horrible but she found that they never listened to her. She eventually did start enjoying herself again, she looked forward to the days that they would drag her outside to see the light of day, it took some weight off of her. Some days they would go to a park, others they'd get milkshakes - but _not_ from the Lucky Cat Cafe - and others they would see a movie. Gogo even got around to taking Honey to the mall to spend her birthday money. Shopping made Honey especially excited.

Life seemed like it would eventually be normal again. Not yet, but someday. She still felt sad about everything that had happened but she no longer felt like her life was over. She was starting to realize that everything she was feeling was temporary. Finally, she truly believed she would be okay again someday and that thought alone made her feel better in the present time. That was until prom came around.

The days building up to the dreaded night were spent staring at her prom dress, she felt so numb. She hated that the horrible feeling was coming back.

The night of prom she sat at the edge of her bed doing the same as before, just staring at her dress and wondering. The jingle of her charm bracelet was the only noise in her room as she toyed with it absentmindedly. Gogo would be here any minute now to get ready with her and she needed to muster up enough energy to enjoy this night with her friends. At least, she would make sure they enjoyed it and didn't have to worry about her.

"Hey girl!" Gogo walked in her room without warning and Honey jumped a little, tucking her wrist between her legs to hide the charm bracelet. She was embarrassed that she still wore it.

"Hi." Nodding was a familiar movement, that had been her only response to anyone for the longest while.

"Come on, get up, take a shower. You've got a fun night ahead of you, I promise."

Honey mechanically obeyed her friends orders and walked to her bathroom, stripping down and turning on the shower. The water was cold, she made sure of it so that she could wake herself up. Her body had felt so heavy for so long, she needed to shock herself into a state that didn't feel as droopy. Over and over again she brushed her hair back from her forehead under the running water. It felt incredible. Being squeaky clean was something she hadn't really felt in a while. She only took a ten minute shower but it was enough to make her eyelids feel less heavy, she made it quick so she could focus on getting ready.

It saddened Honey to think of what prom should've been. Her and Gogo were going to get ready together, get their nails and hair done professionally, have someone do their makeup too; but instead they were in Honey's bedroom for the next four and a half hours, helping each other get ready. She didn't feel bad for herself but she did feel sorry for Gogo who was stuck with her. She wasn't really stuck of course, she was just too good of a friend to ditch Honey in her time of need. Gogo did Honey's hair in a magnificent half up half down curly up-do. She was honestly surprised that her spunky friend had such a knack in the beauty realm. She was in love with it but she hadn't expressed such an emotion in so long that her words of gratitude sounded awkward and forced. "Thank you, I love it a lot. Really, I mean it." She nodded then tried again. "It's beautiful."

"No prob, Honey, you look stunning." Gogo was referring to her finished look and then smiled. "Time to get that beautiful dress on okay?"

"Okay." She smiled a little, trying to at least seem happy about her $160 dress that she bought for this night and this night only. The thought that Tadashi wouldn't see her in it still made her feel wrong about wearing it though.

"Oh my god!" Gogo pressed her hands to her gaping mouth after she finished zipping it up. "Why are you so perfect! I wish I could look like you, you seriously look stunning." Gogo gushed once the dress was on her. This time she laughed a little.

"You look gorgeous too, Gogo!" Her friend was wearing a short black, cocktail dress. It wasn't very fancy but it suited her and it sparkled too which made it a little more classy.

"We both look amazing." She laughed too and gave her extremely taller friend a hug. Honey was getting excited for the prom now, that was until she turned around.

She faced the full length mirror and saw herself, her laughing, smiling face, her elegant prom dress. Very quickly, her laughing transitioned into a violent crying. She couldn't do this without him. He bought this dress for her, he was her date to prom, she was wearing the charm bracelet. She curled her arms around her waist, feeling like her dress was crushing her.

"Please,_ please_ take this _off of me!_" She thrashed for the zipper but couldn't reach it.

"Oh, okay, okay." Gogo ran up behind her and unzipped the dress. As soon as she could, Honey slipped it off and stepped out of it before sitting on the floor, resting against her bed. She sat in only her halter strapless bra and her underwear and she cried. "Come on, you're okay. You can do this. Don't let him ruin this night for you."

"He already did." Honey wheezed between her sobbing. "I don't want to go to prom. You should though, please, I want to be alone."

"Are you sure? Because I don't mind skipping out and hanging with you to watch movies." Her voice was very quiet and careful, she rubbed Honey's shoulder with a soothing touch.

"I'm sure, I really don't want that. I don't want to do anything."

"Okay, well, if you change your mind; you know where we will all be. And I really hope you come." Gogo kissed her on her cheek then left her room.

Eventually she stopped crying and when she did, she realized how stupid she had been. She put her dress back on and fixed her makeup, hoping to salvage some of the masterpiece. Her mom caught her as she was heading out the door to take pictures which was humiliating on her own but she wanted to please her mother. After, she got in her car. But she didn't start the engine, it took a lot of breathing exercises before she could muster up the courage to leave. That's when she changed her mind, as she backed out of the driveway she didn't head to her school. Honey needed to think, and she knew exactly the right place to do it.

* * *

**Tadashi's Point Of View**

It was all out of focus, like a thin veil had been draped over his mind. All his thoughts were distant echos and sometimes he could make out words, but no matter how hard he tried her just couldn't sort it all out. He couldn't remember major relationships or events or changes. It was the most frustrating thing ever, like when you can't remember the name of a famous person or the lyrics to a song you know you know by heart. There was that Aiko girl, clearly she had been special to him. He couldn't forget the way she reacted in the hospital the day he woke up, she seemed so happy to see him and her embrace warmed his heart in an instant. Even still, her arms weren't familiar, and her voice only sent faint murmurs through his mind. She was so heartbroken when he failed to recall who she was. The expression of horror on her face was burned into his mind. And at the dinner - god that was a mess - she was outright furious with his Aunt for not telling him about 'us.' From all this evidence, he gathered that they had been a couple. He wasn't stupid and was a pretty good problem solver so he was confident in his guess. Even if he was right though, he still couldn't force himself to remember his feelings for her and then feel them again. The doctor had explained that it could happen one day on its own but it was something that no one controlled. It could be an image or a sound that could bring it all tumbling back. Tadashi prayed to find that straw that made it come back, he needed to.

Now he was getting ready for prom, the action felt so wrong. He knew there was something missing and once again assumed it was Aiko; if they were together then she was most likely his prom date. As he wrapped his yellow tie around his neck he wondered what her dress looked like, it must've been yellow as he wouldn't have chosen such a bold color on his own. The final piece of his get up was to attach his cuff links, but he couldn't find them. They should've been on his bedside table but they were missing. He opened the drawer and instead found a ring. Tadashi picked up the ring and looked at it closely. A bright smile spread across his lips; it was Honey Lemons promise ring. He fondly recalled the night he gave it to her, she had been so happy, she gave him the biggest hug and had thanked him for the best birthday ever. He nodded, it really was a great birthday present. Looking at the ring still he gasped at his realization, dropping the ring in shock.

"Oh no, oh no!" He mumbled as he tried to stop it from rolling away. Once he had it in his grasp again, he tried to think harder. What else had happened that night? He closed his eyes and followed the memory through his head; she thanked him, they cleaned up and then. "Oh my god." He breathed. He had lost his virginity to her, and she him. He hated himself for ever forgetting that night, not that he could help it. It took him a moment, it was like chipping at a dam, he broke the surface and a small trickle started through the cracks and the more he chipped away the more he remembered, soon the veil was lifted, the dam broke and everything he had forgotten came flooding back.

Tadashi burst out of his room, shoving the ring in his pocket and flying down the stairs.

"Running late?" Cass joked from behind the cafe counter.

"You have no idea." Tadashi called back to her as he left the cafe. In seconds he was in his car and on his way to prom.

The prom looked great and he saw so many people he knew, many of them said hi to him but he didn't have time to answer.

"Gogo, Wasabi!" Those two were the first he saw and he ran to them. "Is Honey Lemon not here?" His expression became incredibly confused when he noticed she wasn't with her normal group.

"No she decided she didn't want to come - wait what did you just call her?" Gogo went from confused to even more confused in seconds but there was no time to explain.

"Sorry can't talk right now, see ya later!" And with that he was dashing back to his car and driving off again. He needed to see her, he couldn't wait to see her, he couldn't wait to kiss her. God he missed her.

He rung her doorbell at least four times but Honey wasn't the one to open it.

"Mrs. Miyazaki. Is Aiko here?"

"No, I'm sorry, she just left for prom not too long ago, did you try there?" Honey's mother sounded concerned.

"Oh." He said simply, "Alright, I'll try there.. Thank you." He nodded hoping not to worry her mother and she smiled back before closing the door. Tadashi's friendly smile faded once the door was shut. "Where could she be?" He racked his brain, pacing on her doorstep, trying to think of what he was forgetting. It hit him only minutes later. "The park." He whispered. That had to be it. He hopped back in his car and sped off to their spot, hoping she'd still be there when he arrived.

He felt so exhausted, his heart was racing as he ran down the stone pathway that wound through the grass, all he needed to do was get to that bench. Soon, he could see her blonde hair in the distance, draping over the backrest of the wooden seat. He stopped running and grinned, trying to catch his breath. His heart was working faster than his mind and he didn't have time to think of something clever before he called to her.

"Honey Lemon!" At his words she immediately turned around to face him, the same confused expression that everyone else had drew onto her face.

"Tadashi? What are you doing here?"

He walked over to her so that he didn't have to shout anymore, she stood up to meet him. God she looked breathtaking, it was everything he could've ever dreamed of and more. The dress fit her perfectly, complimenting her curves and thinness. Now he understood why he was wearing a yellow tie too, the color looked so perfect on her. And he couldn't even get started on her hair, every part of her looked like a dream.

"I uh-" He reached in his pocket and cleared his throat, her appearance had tripped him up. "I have something that belongs to you." He revealed the promise ring then took her dainty hand in his own, sliding the ring onto her right ring finger. "I'm sorry that I forgot about you, about us, for so long."

* * *

**Honey's Point Of View**

She watched him move with wide eyes, watched the ring get returned to its rightful place on her hand, watched his eyes. His eyes, that was it, she could see it again. In his eyes was that same warmth that she had come to love. Finally she recognized them and they recognized her, she could see the excitement that flashed in his brown irises.

"You remember?" She whispered a very hopeful whisper, but not too loud, worried he might disagree. Her worries weren't necessary, the words he spoke were sweeter than anything she had ever heard.

"I remember." He nodded, strong and sure and just as he smiled she began to cry. For the first time in weeks, this cry was finally a happy one.

"Oh god, you remember!" They fell into a tangled embrace, her heart melting at his touch. Feeling the familiarity of his strong hands on her waist only made her cry more. "And I will never forget you again." He sniffled too, probably just as overwhelmed as she was.

She pulled away from the hug to press her lips on his, she need to feel his kiss again. Just as she hoped, it was as magical as it had always been and it made her heart sing and her stomach flip. When it ended they only smiled at each other.

"You have no clue how excited I was to do that" He laughed and she chuckled with him.

"I think I can imagine." She countered flirtatiously. For a moment they just smiled at each other, she took in the image of his beautiful face grinning at her; a sight she had missed so dearly. Soon though, he seemed to have an idea.

"Hey! It's still prom, so why don't we head back and join the party." He lifted his watch to glance at the time. "We've got about an hour left."

"I think that I'd like to stay here with you a little while longer, if that's okay? Can we take like fifteen minutes?" She sighed, wanting to go to prom but a part of her liked the quality time with Tadashi a lot better. He seemed surprised at her request but obliged, not before a smirk lingered on his lips though.

"Can I at least get one dance with you?" He spoke in a playful voice and she knew what he was getting at.

"What? Here? With what music?" She laughed nervously, not really the dancing type.

"That's an easy fix." He grinned and quickly found a song on his phone to play, then he set it down on the bench and took her hand. "May I have this dance?"

Her face burnt a deep red and her heart skipped a beat but she smirked at him anyway. "Of course."

He tugged her arm and twirled her around before pulling her into him. She felt weightless as he picked her up by her waist and spun her around, squealing and laughing until she was set back down. Her head spun with her heart, the two finally feeling the same thing, her entire being felt a million times happier in this moment than ever before. It was clear that good things were so much sweeter after the bad. And in this moment everything was perfect. It was magical. She swayed along to the music with Tadashi feeling more at peace than ever. Her head rested on his heart where she listened to his heartbeat - something she always loved to do.

"I love you." She whispered, feeling as though she needed to remind him.

"I love you too." Those words were enough for her to die happy.

She fell into their rhythmic swaying, closing her eyes and breathing in the moment to hold it in her heart forever. Under the stars, she fell in love all over again.

_-fin-_

* * *

**And that's the end! I hope that you loved it! I put a lot of time (Roughly two years and twenty two days, no biggie) and effort into it, and I know the ending was long over due, but I hope that somehow it was worth the wait! It means so much that all of you have devoted your time to reading my story. Please tell me what you thought of it. I love you all and once again I am thankful for every one of you. Yours truly,**

**-Kittensandmilk**


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